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Webster committee unanimously approves $29.75 million FY27 school budget
Summary
The Webster School Committee unanimously approved a $29,747,025 FY27 budget after a public hearing in which administrators highlighted a 13.56% increase in Chapter 70 aid, rising special-education tuition pressures and a net budget increase driven largely by salary and special-education costs.
The Webster School Committee on April 14 voted unanimously to approve the school district’s FY27 operating budget of $29,747,025 following a public hearing and presentation by district financial staff.
Business manager Mrs. Ktos told the committee the district’s budget development began with a salary-only plan that produced a 4.64% increase, then rose to 9.41% after departmental needs were added and was later reduced to a 6.62% increase through targeted cuts and use of reserves. “We are looking for approval of the 29,747,025, which is the number we have agreed upon with the town,” she said during the hearing.
The presentation identified three key drivers of state aid and district revenue this year: a net enrollment increase of about 50 students, a wage-adjustment factor change (from 6.13% to 8.29%), and a higher inflation factor. Those changes produced a 13.56% increase in Chapter 70 state aid, which administrators described as a “life vest” for the budget.
Administrators also emphasized continuing pressure from special-education costs. Mrs. Ktos said the district’s simple average out-of-district tuition per placed student is near $121,000–$122,000 and that rising tuition rates have been a structural cost pressure. The budget retains six special-education positions added in FY26 and converts an administrative assistant supporting special education from a school-year to a full-year role to better manage summer move‑ins and IEP work.
Other items included in the approved number: contractual step and lane obligations, curriculum renewals spread over multi-year payment plans to flatten costs, a school resource officer budgeted in the school budget rather than the town’s budget, and increased estimates for utilities and software. The administration said they used a mix of reductions — such as lowering legal-services budgets and adjusting retirement estimates — to tighten the draft before presenting the final figure to the town administrator.
Chair Mrs. Pangley moved the budget for approval. On roll call the members present voted yes (Member Calleros, Member Adamopoulos, Member Millet, Member Skigglia and others), and the motion passed unanimously.
The budget will be placed before town meeting voters on May 11 in the Bartlett High School auditorium as the next procedural step.
What this means: District officials said the approved FY27 budget aims to cover legally required services and contractual obligations while preserving essential special-education supports; administrators cautioned that healthcare, tuition inflation and limited local revenue growth will continue to stress future budgets.
