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Superintendent previews FY27 budget timeline and says district has 'stabilized' after three years of cuts
Summary
Dr. Mark Franco presented a preliminary FY27 budget timeline: preliminary numbers on Jan. 7, public presentation Feb. 4 and town meeting April 11; he said three years of rightsizing cut $343,000, $1,000,000 and $1,400,000 and 32 positions, leaving the district stable enough to avoid further reductions in FY27.
Superintendent Mark Franco gave the committee a first public look at the FY27 budget process and timeline. He said the district plans to present preliminary numbers at the Jan. 7 meeting, release a budget book around Jan. 23–24, and give a full public budget presentation on Feb. 4 ahead of Town Meeting on April 11. Franco described three years of 'rightsizing' with reductions of $343,000 in year one, $1,000,000 in year two and $1,400,000 in year three, totaling 32 positions removed across that period.
"We have... come out the other side at this point," Franco said, adding that the district is now in a position to build FY27 "without having to make financial reductions" and without asking for an "exorbitant increase" from the community. He emphasized continuing fiscal pressures — growth in health insurance and energy costs and the state's 2.5% levy limit — and reminded the committee the operating budget differs from capital priorities handled by the town's capital process (CIPC). The superintendent said district reserves (circuit breaker, special education transportation and school choice) comprise about 25% of anticipated costs and that staff will present more detailed numbers at the January meetings.
