Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fy26 Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dartmouth School Committee debates FY26 budget as school choice funds near exhaustion
Summary
School leaders told the committee the district has relied on school choice funds to plug gaps and that continued use is not sustainable; members debated whether to include a professional HR position in FY26 and reviewed prior staff realignments as enrollment projections show a decline.
The Dartmouth School Committee spent the bulk of its March 3 meeting on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, as district leaders warned that continued reliance on school choice funds to cover recurring expenses is not sustainable.
Superintendent Dr. June Saba-Maguire told the committee the district has used school choice funds since 2017 for one-time needs and to help during the pandemic, but that current and proposed uses for FY26 require a plan to "bridge the gap" rather than treating school choice as a permanent revenue source. "We want the community to understand school choice funds are being used in the best interest of students," she said.
Assistant/Business staff member James Kiely presented a memorandum and slide packet responding to prior questions, including New England School Development Council (NESDEC) projections that show a decline in enrollment. Kiely listed recent realignments made to match staffing with enrollment, including three elementary teaching positions eliminated through realignment, two ESSER-funded middle school positions not continued, one middle school teaching position, one high school teaching position, an elementary specialist teacher position eliminated, the secretary to the superintendent position removed, and one part-time secretarial position cut.
Committee members pressed on support-service staffing. Chairperson Chris Oliver noted the district's Education Support Professional (ESP) ratio is 1.1 ESPs per 100 students below the state average; members said those support staff address high student needs. Committee member Elizabeth Coughlin asked whether ESPs are present in every classroom; Dr. Saba-Maguire said they are not.
A separate area of debate was a proposed professional Human Resources position. Dr. Saba-Maguire said an HR role had been included in the FY25 request but was withdrawn because of budget pressures; she proposed testing automated HR support services first rather than hiring immediately. "We think it might be best to not put the Human Resource position forward at this time," she said, while acknowledging the district still needs dedicated HR capacity.
Members split on the approach. John Nunes and Elizabeth Coughlin argued for retaining the HR position in the budget now; Mr. Oliver said he was hesitant and wants a multi-year plan to avoid depending indefinitely on school choice funds, and that if the district expects positions to shift into the operating budget it should seek written agreements from town departments before committing. Mary Beckwith asked whether the town HR person serves all departments; Mr. Kiely confirmed the town HR covers other departments.
Kiely also provided dates for upcoming budget work: a Finance Committee meeting and a budget hearing, with the School Committee expected to vote on the FY26 budget at a later meeting. The committee did not vote on the overall FY26 budget on March 3.
The meeting closed with a unanimous roll-call vote to adjourn into executive session for collective bargaining and negotiations with non-union personnel; the committee did not return to open session.
