Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
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 shortfall, the committee voted unanimously to transfer $95,000 from salary lines for instructional aides and ABA staff into contracted services. The presenter explained that $95,000 is the recommended internal reallocation the district can safely release without jeopardizing payroll for remaining staff.
Officials also flagged additional overages in special-education tuition and transportation: the district reported the day-tuition line is approximately $734,000 over budget, with indistrict and summer transportation also showing overages tied to changes in students IEP placements. The district noted a town-held special education reserve of about $815,000 and recommended requesting a $680,000 transfer from that reserve to cover FY26 needs, leaving roughly $150,000 in the fund with the intent to replenish it at FY27 Town Meeting.
At the motion to recommend warrant articles, the committee approved language asking Town Meeting to (1) transfer $345,000 from free cash to schools for FY26 contracted-services pressures, (2) appropriate free cash for the special-education reserve, and (3) appropriate free cash for litigation expenses affecting the schools. The motion text read at the vote listed $600,000 for the FY27 special-education reserve appropriation, which differs from earlier staff comments recommending $680,000; committee members approved the motion as read and staff later said they would reconcile the discrepancy while preparing Town Meeting materials.
The presenter said the district plans to request the $345,000 FY26 transfer from free cash at Town Meeting, that replenishment of the special-education reserve is a Town Meeting appropriation (free cash) for FY27, and that a separate Select Board action is required to authorize a transfer from the reserve in the current year. Committee members expressed concern about repeatedly relying on Town Meeting for midyear funding but agreed the actions were necessary to close FY26 responsibly.
Next steps: the committee will present the warrant articles to the finance committee and the Select Board in advance of Annual Town Meeting; the committee approved forwarding the articles by unanimous vote.
