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Westwood district seeks $345,000 transfer, taps special-ed reserve after $1.67M contracted-services shortfall
Summary
School officials told the Westwood School Committee that FY26 contracted special-education services and tuition overruns are driving a projected $1.67 million deficit; the committee approved a $95,000 internal transfer and voted to recommend a $345,000 free-cash transfer and a reserve replenishment at Town Meeting.
The Westwood School Committee on March 19 heard that the district faces a sizable FY26 budget gap driven largely by contracted special-education services and unanticipated tuition and transportation costs.
During the finance update, a district staff presenter said vacancies in in-district instructional aide (IAS) and applied behavior analyst (ABA) positions led the district to contract outside providers to fill roughly 23 positions as of early March. That reliance on contractors is projected to push the contracted-services line about $1.67 million over budget for FY26, the presenter said, and about $1.25 million of that is attributable to the agencies the district uses for contractors.
To partially address the…
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