Committee votes to add school‑choice seats to close $123,901 budget gap

The School Committee voted June 24 to increase the number of school‑choice seats to help close a remaining fiscal gap for the coming year.

Finance staff described a remaining budget shortfall of roughly $123,901 after earlier reductions and a $30,000 transfer from the school nutrition revolving account. To close that gap they presented three options: admit additional students from the school‑choice waitlist, reduce non‑core athletics (middle‑school sports/JV2), or cut non‑core academic programming (for example, specialist positions). Staff noted each option carried programmatic and equity tradeoffs.

After discussion — which included concerns about preserving middle‑school athletics and program offerings and noting the district’s strategic preference to avoid relying solely on school choice — the committee voted to accept staff’s recommendation to admit additional school‑choice students where capacity allowed. The approved changes increase school‑choice seats to a total of 12 in grade 6 (add 7), 24 in grade 9 (add 9) and 8 in grade 10 (add 3). Staff said admitting those students would close the current gap and produce a small surplus.

Members stressed this is a near‑term budget remedy and urged further strategic work before the next budget cycle to reduce reliance on school choice for operating revenue. Several members asked staff to pursue any available city revenue offsets (for example, vocational tuition lines) and to monitor enrollment and program impacts during summer enrollment matriculation.

What happens next: staff will notify waitlisted families and monitor final enrollments; the committee will revisit broader budget strategy and program tradeoffs during its summer retreat and in the fall when state and city revenue figures are clearer.