Welcome to our FY25 Budget Page. You can find comprehensive information about the development of our proposed FY25 Budget. This page will continue to be developed throughout the budget process. I encourage you to check back regularly for updates.
Sincerely,
Peter Light
Superintendent of Schools
Superintendent and School Committee Chair Host Public Forum Friday 3/15 (March 13, 2024)
Please join Superintendent Peter Light and School Committee Chair Adam Klein for a Community Coffee on Friday, March 15th from 8:30-9:30 a.m. at KJ's Caffee in Great Road in Acton. We invite you to grab a coffee and snack and join us for a question and answer session about our schools and the FY25 Budget.
School Committee Members Host Office Hours (March 12, 2024)
The ABRSD School Committee invites the public to join them for office hours!
Tuesday, March 12 at 6PM at the Acton Senior Center
Thursdays 2:30-3:30 p.m (except Mar 21) through April 26 at the Sargent Memorial Library
Fridays from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. through April 26 at the Acton Town Hall, Room 126
What are the A & B Budgets? Learn More Here! (March 11, 2024)
The District prepared A & B Budgets this year to due to the large funding gap.Please take 5 minutes to learn about what is and isn't included in each of these Budgets.
School Committee to Hold Annual Budget Hearing March 7 (March 6, 2024)
The School Committee will hold its annual budget hearing on
Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 7:05 p.m. The meeting will take place in the
Administration Building Auditorium located at 15 Charter Rd. in Acton. Members of the community who wish to speak to the budget are invited to attend.
The school committee is scheduled to vote its final budget on March 21st. The school committee voted its preliminary budget on February 15th.
The preliminary budget was set at $114,380,105, a 7.68% increase from FY24. The budget reduced expenses by $3.1M from a level-services budget by reducing 20.1 staff and restructuring employee health insurance. In addition, the proposed budget generates approximately $485K in new revenue from fees and outside sources.
Details of the preliminary budget are below:
FY25 Budget Summary by Administrative Function
FY25 Budget Summary by Character Code
FY25 Budget Full Line Item Detail
Below is a
summary of staff reductions for FY25 and the preceding two years:
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Proposed FY25 A Budget Reductions (-20.08 FTE)
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FY24 Reductions (-14.4 FTE)
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FY23 Reductions (-25.6 FTE)
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District-wide Leadership and Administration
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1.0 FTE Assistant Director of Special Education
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1.0 Curriculum Coordinator
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2.0 Digital Literacy Coach
Elementary Teaching Positions
Junior High Teaching and Support Positions
High School Teaching and Support Positions
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District-wide Leadership and Administration
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1.0 FTE Central Office Director of School Operations
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1.0 FTE Central Office Director of Special Projects
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3.0 FTE District-wide Elementary Curriculum Coordinators (Science, Literacy/Social Studies, Digital Literacy)
Junior High Teaching and Support Positions
High School Teaching and Support Positions
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1.0 English Teacher
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1.0 Social Studies Teacher
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1.0 Science Teacher
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0.4 Physical Education Teacher
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0.4 Art Teacher
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0.4 Senior Seminar Coordinator
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1.0 Special Education Assistant
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0.4 Counseling Administrative Assistant
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District-wide Leadership and Administration
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Converting an Assistant Superintendent position to a Director of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)
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3.0 FTE Bus Drivers
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1.0 FTE Security Staff
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1.0 FTE Operations/Grounds Staff
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0.5 FTE Capital Projects Manager
Elementary Teaching Positions
Junior High Teaching and Support Positions
High School Teaching and Support Positions
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Comments and questions on the school budget may be sent to:
Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee:
[email protected]
Peter Light, Superintendent of Schools:
[email protected]
School Committee Votes Preliminary Budget (February 16, 2024)
Last night, the school committee amended the FY25 Superintendent's Recommended Budget by adding back 6 part-time Elementary Reading Assistants and a Certified Elementary Librarian. The committee noted the direct impact that these roles have on students. In particular, the Reading Assistants play an important role in supporting students acquire early literacy skills. Because the reading assistants are less than 1/2 time positions, they are not benefits eligible and provide a good value to the district for the return in direct services to students. The Library/Media position is a certified position that plays a critical role in planning and delivering digital and library curriculum to students, and the difference between having a certified librarian or an assistant in the role was less than $20,000 per year, after benefits. In total, the committee voted their Preliminary Budget $133,355 higher that the Superintendent's Recommended budget by adding these positions back.
You can view the District's
Recommended Budget Presentation for additional details about the FY25 Budget.
|
Revised FY24 |
Supt. Preliminary FY25 “A” Budget |
Supt. Recommended FY25
“A” Budget |
School Committee Preliminary Budget (Voted) |
Supt. Preliminary FY25 “B”
Budget |
| Total Budget Appropriation |
$106,224,413 |
$115,312,084 |
$114,246,750 |
$114,380,105 |
$108,057,298 |
| Increase from prior year |
$3,324,973 |
$9,087,671 |
$8,022,337 |
$8,155,692 |
$1,832,885 |
| % Increase from prior year |
3.23% |
8.56% |
7.55% |
7.68% |
1.73% |
| TOTAL Assessments |
$85,614,057 |
$95,961,728 |
$94,897,594 |
$95,030,949 |
$88,706,942 |
| Acton Assessment |
$71,669,758 |
$79,843,743 |
78,959,916 |
$79,070,675 |
$73,818,212 |
| Acton % Change |
2.84% |
11.41% |
10.17% |
10.33% |
3.00% |
| Boxborough Assessment |
$13,944,299 |
$16,117,985 |
15,937,678 |
$15,960,274 |
$14,888,760 |
| Boxborough % Change |
5.18% |
15.59% |
14.30% |
14.46% |
6.77% |
FY25 Recommended Budget (February 15, 2024)
We have continued to develop the preliminary budget over the last several weeks based on feedback from the school committee and community. We have now developed the FY25 Superintendent's Recommended Budget. This version of the budget is being presented to the school committee on February 15th in anticipation of their preliminary budget vote that night. The recommended budget is the A Version of the Budget with several notable changes. You can read more about the budget below:
FY25 Recommended Budget Memo
Recommended Budget Summary by Administrative Category and Character Code
Recommended Budget Line Item Detail
Recommended Budget Table 6 detailing budget and community assessments.
Summary of changes from the Preliminary to Recommended Budgets:
NET Change from Preliminary to Recommended Budget: ($1,065,334)
Added Costs
- Added $700K for Health Insurance Contingency Fund (HIT Runout)
- Restored 1 Elementary SpecEd Teacher
- Restored 4 Elementary SpecEd Assistants
Savings
- Reduced Health Insurance by $1.5M ($800K NET of HIT Runout)
- Reduced OPEB Contribution Budget by $250K
- Reduced 1 Kindergarten Section (1 Teacher, 1 Assistant) - projected 40 fewer students
- Offset additional $30K salaries to Revolving
- Reduced Part-time HS Data Assistant
- Reduced misc. expense lines by $55,000
- Reduced programs and services by$26,750
Increased K Tuition increase by $325 to $2,125 (was $125 increase in Preliminary)
Please note, the memo did not have the correct information
School Committee Budget Workshop Recap (posted February 15, 2024)
On Saturday, February 10th, the school committee held a day long Budget Workshop Open to members of the community. We were pleased to welcome members of the Acton and Boxborough Select Boards and Finance Committees.
The Day included an overview of the preliminary budget, a financial overview of the district as well as staffing trends. We then did a deep dive into special education and related costs, administration and leadership and heard from an educator panel that shared their experiences about the changing face of teaching during the working lunch. In the afternoon, we reconvened to discuss structural changes to the budget, provided an opportunity for open Q&A from members of the community about the budget, and ended with a school committee discussion of the A & B Budgets.
During their deliberations, the committee requested that District Administration return the following week with an additional $1M in A Budget reductions. This was based on feedback from the Boxborough Boards.
Materials and videos from Budget Saturday:
Budget Workshop Slides
Video from the morning session:
Video from the afternoon session:
FY25 Complete Preliminary Budget Binder (February 9, 2024)
You can now view the complete FY25 Preliminary Budget Binder online in two formats:
FY25 Budget Binder (Web Format)
FY25 Budget Binder (Complete PDF)
ABRSC Office Hours (February 8, 2024)
The Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee invites you to join us for office hours in February. We want to engage with community members about budget challenges and your priorities. Come ask questions and share your thoughts about the 2025 budget and other topics!
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Tuesdays from 4:30-5:30PM
Thursdays from 2:30-3:30PM*
*except 1:30-2:30 on Feb 22
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Sargent Memorial Library, Boxborough
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Wednesdays (except Feb 14), 2:00-4:00PM
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Acton Town Hall, Room 9
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Fridays 10:00AM-12:00PM
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Acton Town Hall, Room 126
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SC Members will also hold office hours in March at the Acton Senior Center. Details are forthcoming.
Superintendent's Preliminary Line Item Budget Available (January 30, 2024)
The full line item budget as well as the summaries by Administrative Responsibility and Character Code are now available. Click the links below for the documents.
FY25 Preliminary Budget by Administrative Responsibility
FY25 Preliminary Budget by Character Code
FY25 Preliminary Budget Line Item Detail
Feedback on the FY25 Preliminary Budget can be emailed to:
Peter Light, Superintendent at [email protected]
Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee at [email protected]
Superintendent's Preliminary Budget Presentation (January 18, 2024)
We invite you to watch the FY25 Superintendent's Preliminary Budget presentation to the Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee from January 18th. You can access slides from the presentation and the dates of upcoming presentations by scrolling down. The budget will evolve over the next two months before being finalized in mid-March. Our next budget discussion is scheduled for Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.
Feedback on the FY25 Preliminary Budget can be emailed to:
Peter Light, Superintendent at [email protected]
Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee at [email protected]
Superintendent's Preliminary Budget Released (posted January 17, 2024)
The
FY25 Superintendent's Preliminary Budget includes an overview of both the A&B Budgets being prepared in anticipation of a tax override vote in Acton.
The
A Budget increases revenue by
$420K and
reduces $2.1M in expenses.
The
B Budget increases revenue by
$542K and
reduces $9.4M in expenses.
This presentation will be shared with the school committee on Thursday, January 18th at 7:00 p.m. in the AB Administration Building, located at 15 Charter Rd. in Acton. We invite members of the community to attend in person or watch the presentation live on
ActonTV's Youtube Channel.
The budget process will evolve of the next two months and we anticipate there will be multiple changes along the way. Ultimately, the school committee will vote their FY25 Final "A" Budget on March 21, 2024. We encourage you to follow the FY25 budget as it develops over the next two months.
FY25 Budget Development Schedule (posted January 17, 2024)
With the release of the Superintendent's Preliminary Budget, the school committee will begin a two-month process of public deliberations on the FY25 Budget. School committee meetings in the table below are open meetings. Meetings, unless otherwise noted, take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Administration Building located at 15 Charter Rd. in Acton. You can also view meetings online on ActonTV's Youtube Channel.
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January 18, 2024
7:00 p.m.
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Presentation #1
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Superintendent’s Preliminary Budget Overview
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Budget Guidelines & District Goals
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Preliminary Revenues & Budget Drivers
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A & B Budget Staffing & Adjustments
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Projected Assessments
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February 1, 2024
7:00 p.m.
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Presentation #2
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Superintendent’s Preliminary Budget
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February 10, 2024
8:30 a.m - 4:00 p.m.
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Presentation #3
BUDGET SATURDAY
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Budget Workshop
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February 15, 2024
7:00 p.m.
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Presentation #4
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Superintendent’s Recommended A & B Budgets
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February 29, 2024
7:00 p.m.
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Presentation #5
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Superintendent’s Recommended Budget Updates
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March 7, 2024
7:00 p.m.
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Presentation #6
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Public Budget Hearing as required by MGL
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March 21, 2024
7:00 p.m.
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Presentation #7
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Superintendent’s Final Budget Recommendation
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Important Dates (posted January 17, 2024)
Budget Workshop and Preliminary SC Budget Vote:
Preliminary Budget Vote:
Budget Hearing:
Final SC Budget Vote:
Acton Town Election
Town Meetings:
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Acton: Begins May 6, 2024
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Boxborough: Begins May 13, 2024
Early Budget Projections (posted Fall 2023)
We are currently projecting a $9.5M funding deficit for FY25. Budget projections can change early in our budget process as we learn more about expected expenses and revenues.
You can learn more about what is driving this deficit below:
Superintendent's Memo to School Committee - Early Budget Projections (10/27/23)
Superintendent's Community Update Video (12/19/23):
See other aspects of our school budget explained in brief 2-minute videos