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Dartmouth School Committee opens FY26 budget planning, considers one-time reserves and a possible override
Summary
Assistant Superintendent James Kiely told the School Committee on July 22 that the district is beginning early FY26 planning to identify gaps driven by transportation, special education tuition, enrollment and utilities; he outlined use of reserves as a one-year fix and urged preparation for a potential override in FY27.
Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations James Kiely on July 22 urged the Dartmouth School Committee to begin an early, public budget conversation about FY26 and FY27, saying the district needs to understand funding gaps and prepare advocacy for community support.
Kiely told the committee the district would "begin by maintaining the 'level of service' which is a good place to start but that is not 'key' for us — we want to grow," and framed the preliminary budget as an "expression of our needs" rather than a final plan. He listed key pressures that will drive next year’s budget: transportation, special education tuition, student enrollment and utilities.
Kiely warned that one-time funds have been used to cover recurring costs. He said the district used about $1.8 million in school choice revenue to fund recurring costs in FY25 and that remaining ESSER grant dollars will be entirely spent, leaving roughly $200,000 of summer-program funding with no identified FY26 source. He said it is possible the district could begin FY26 with about $1.5 million in the school choice revolving fund, but cautioned that tapping one-time reserves would likely be a single-year fix.
"The best way to proceed might be to use the reserve funds in FY26 and to prepare for an override in FY27," Kiely said, outlining a sequence that would place bargaining contracts and the town administration in more settled positions before asking voters to increase revenue.
Superintendent June Saba-Maguire told the committee the district has already absorbed staff reductions: "we do not go through this year unscathed in FY25, we lost over 9 positions," and she said the committee must weigh the immediate impact of using reserves to carry the budget. Member Elizabeth Coughlin said the phrase "level of service" can be misleading because it masks years of unfilled positions; John Nunes warned of the dangers of depleting reserves.
Committee members discussed timing and next steps. Kiely said the group should work backward from a ballot date to set an override timeline and indicated the committee should have options ready by the end of August. He also recommended follow-up budget subcommittee meetings and coordination with town administrators.
The committee did not take a binding vote on budget choices at the July meeting but recorded agreement to continue subcommittee work and community outreach as the district develops its FY26 request and prepares communications should an override option be pursued in FY27.
