TOWNSEND – The North Middlesex Regional School Committee provides the following update on the status of the 2024-2025 school budget and offers additional information and context about its request for funding to support quality educational programming.
The District is requesting a 5.79 percent increase, reflecting sharply increasing costs of special education and out-of-district placements, rising prices of goods and services, and the need to close achievement gaps caused by pandemic-era disruption.
The request exceeds the ability of the District’s sending communities – Ashby, Pepperell, and Townsend – to comply with the tax limits of Proposition 2 ½. Voters in Pepperell and Townsend declined to support a 6.27 percent increase in previous override referendums.
The District and School Committee reviewed the initial budget request and submitted a reduced amount for override consideration in June.
Townsend will hold a referendum on Tuesday, June 11, to request an additional $1,320,936 in funding.
Ashby voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, June 18, to consider a request for an additional $595,693 for North Middlesex.
Pepperell voters will go to the polls on Monday, June 24, to vote on a request for an additional $1.5 million in funding for both North Middlesex and Nashoba Valley Technical High School. Voters have approved the North Middlesex 2024-2025 budget, committing the town to full education funding. Should the override be approved, Pepperell will be able to fund its municipal budget without additional service reductions.
Two of the three communities must approve the budget. With Pepperell having approved, the amended budget request will be considered passed if either Ashby or Townsend approves its override vote.
The School Committee’s Finance Subcommittee met with the administration on May 8 and discussed several potential cost reduction strategies and their potential impacts on students. The Subcommittee also discussed potential savings through building consolidation of Ashby Elementary School and/or Squannacook Early Childhood Center.
The Finance Subcommittee tasked Superintendent Brad Morgan to develop three contingencies, including the closure of a building, should voters not approve about $3 million in additional funding.
In all three options, the administration proposes (all costs are estimated savings/costs):
- Eliminating 24.75 positions – nine paraprofessionals, seven classroom teachers, 3.75 administrative positions, three special education teachers, two counselors, and reducing one registered nurse position to a licensed professional nurse – saving $1.44 million
- Establish a fee for full-day Kindergarten, and increase Pre-K registration fees: $361,500 ($3,000 per student)
- Use of ESSER funds: $200,000
- Increasing fees for extracurricular activities: $158,000 (increase range $100-$250 per activity)
- Establish a technology fee: TBD
- Reducing technology budget: $150,000
- Reducing curriculum budget: $25,000
Option 1:
- Do not fund Stabilization or OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) for FY2025, or additional staff reductions: $400,000
- Use additional money from the Excess & Deficiency Account or additional staff reductions: $250,000
Option 2:
- Do not fund Stabilization or OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) for FY2025 or additional staff reductions totaling $250,000
- Use additional money from the Excess & Deficiency Account or additional staff reductions totaling $400,000
Option 3:
- Close Ashby Elementary School, eliminating ten positions and reducing utilities costs for savings totaling $500,000
- Use additional money from the Excess & Deficiency Account or additional staff reductions totaling $200,000
Superintendent Morgan and Business Manager Nancy Haines warned against overusing the Stabilization, OPEB, and Excess and deficiency accounts, as these are short-term solutions that do not comply with sound financial practices.
The administration also considered other cost-saving measures, including closing Squannacook Early Childhood Center. Closing SECC would severely limit the District’s ability to meet state requirements for an integrated PreK program and would not result in cost savings, as there would be no staffing reductions realized.
There would also be additional expenses related to shifting students to a suitable alternate location and potential additional staffing needs due to related service provider staff needing to travel between buildings.
The entire School Committee met on May 13 to discuss all the options. The committee voted 8-1 in favor of a hybrid version of Option 2 for the budget. The vote was taken at this meeting to meet the contractual obligations for the reduction in staff notice date of May 15.
This revised version would use $250,000 from Stabilization to fund capital projects, and an additional $300,000 from Excess & Deficiency for a total of $2,345,000.
Fee adjustments in activity fees, parking, full-day kindergarten, and technology fees were not set and would be voted on at the next School Committee meeting on June 13 if necessary.