By Diane Baum
This article was first published in Acton Exchange.
After a day-long “Budget Saturday” workshop on February 10 and a subsequent budget discussion on February 15, the School Committee voted unanimously to set the 2024-25 recommended Acton-Boxborough Regional School District budget at $114,380,105. Both meetings were recorded and are available at Acton TV’s government channel.
The budget reflects $3.0M in cuts.
Acton’s portion is $79,070,675, an increase of 10.33% and would require an operational override. An operational override is a permanent tax increase that allows a municipality to increase property taxes by a targeted amount in addition to the 2.5% currently allowed annually under Massachusetts law.
The Acton Select Board voted on February 26 to authorize a local ballot question on April 30th to see if Acton voters will approve a $6.6M override. The last time Acton voters were presented with an override decision was in 2005.
Other Massachusetts school districts comparable to Acton-Boxborough that are either considering an override or have already passed an override include: Westford ($6M), Belmont ($8.4M) and Hingham ($7.9M). The City of Newton had a failed override ($9.2M) in 2023. Brookline voters will weigh in on an override of $7M in May.
Boxborough’s portion of the School District’s budget is $15,960,274, an increase of 14.46%. In a 5 to 3 vote, Boxborough’s Finance Committee voted on Feb 20 to move the assessment increase forward to Boxborough’s Town Meeting, which is their legislative body.
State and other revenues that will be applied to the 2024-25 School District budget are projected to be around $19M.
Budget drivers for the School District include increases of unprecedented magnitude in fixed costs impacting health insurance and other fringe benefits ($3.2M) and special education out-of-district tuitions and transportation ($2.1M) which have depleted reserves. While overall enrollment has decreased since 2016, the District has experienced significant enrollment increases in specific populations requiring the addition of staff who are licensed to provide needed supports ($2.3M).
Superintendent of Schools Peter Light noted at Budget Saturday and at the School Committee meeting that inflation has made it increasingly difficult to continue to maintain the overall budget increases which have averaged 3.03% over the past 7 years.
Over the past two annual budget cycles, the School District delivered low increases by reducing the equivalent of 40 staff positions and budgeting a portion of their reserves to offset operating costs. The Superintendent cautioned the School Committee that continuing to use reserves to offset operating expenses, a practice often endorsed by Finance Officers and School Committees, is problematic and recommended discontinuing this practice.
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recently published guidance around best-practices and use of reserves.
School Committee budget deliberations will continue on February 29, followed by a March 7 public hearing. School committees in Massachusetts are required by law to hold an annual public hearing to officially inform the public of their proposed budget prior to a final Committee vote. The final budget vote is scheduled for March 21.
Members of the public who wish to provide feedback to the School Committee can do so via email (abrsc@abschools.org) or in-person during their scheduled business meetings.
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