By Heather Halpern — For the North Star Reporter
A proposed fiscal year 2026 budget includes hiring 20.2 new full-time faculty members.
The budget hearing took place at the School Committee meeting on Feb. 4. This was the first opportunity for the committee to discuss the budget after last month’s full presentation.
Superintendent John Antonucci highlighted that “Salaries, special education, operations, and maintenance combined account for 95% of the total operating budget.”
He detailed the costs and their impact on the overall budget:
- $48.1 Million: Total salary budget
- $18.25 Million: Special education budget
- $4.4 Million: Total operations and maintenance
Antonucci emphasized, “Class sizes of 28 students and more should not be tolerated within this town.”
To address this, an additional 20.2 FTEs are being requested through the budget proposal to provide more support to students. School principals may be asked to present their needs in future committee meetings if beneficial.
The requested 2026 fiscal budget of $53,446,723 sparked a passionate exchange of questions and concerns from committee members.
Chairperson Tasha Buzzell and member Charlie Peters expressed concerns regarding the $3.81 million of outside revenue being used to offset the budget. They questioned if any of this revenue comes from federal grants that may no longer be available, following an executive order from President Donald Trump freezing certain federal spending.
Peters remarked, “I’m very nervous on this point.”
Buzzell requested more in-depth information on what specifically Title I, Title II, Title III, and Title IV cover within the North Attleborough school budget.
Member Sarah Stone stressed, “It’s important to present the town with a budget that addresses all of our current needs.”
She raised concerns about how line items in the budget would be kept or eliminated if the town provided less funding than what was approved by the board.
“Important discussions will happen when we need to determine what will and will not be funded,” added committee member David Chee. “We will need to determine what will be the most impactful and important if all funds are not granted.”
Committee member Ethan Hamilton voiced his frustrations with the budget approval process, stating, “The process is backwards. Why should we approve the budget and then the town will turn around and say no and not give us the funds we already approved?”
Buzzell responded, “The budget will be on paper and will outline our needs, which is what the town has been asking for.”
Antonucci confirmed that the budget is formatted with a tiered system and that this elected body has full authority over the budget.
“A very thorough budget has been put together and a vote should not take place as no discussion with the town has yet been had,” said committee member Keith Lapointe.
An external meeting with the superintendent, the Budget Subcommittee, the town manager, and other town representatives will take place to discuss the draft budget. A date and time for the meeting was not given. The superintendent expressed comfort in attending this meeting without the budget being approved by the committee, assuring that the budget needs would be fully presented and discussed.
Voting on the proposed budget was deferred until next month’s School Committee meeting.
Related Matters
- Physical Restraint Policy: Recommended revisions to better align with regulations, emphasizing de-escalation.
- 2025-2026 School Calendar: Draft calendar will be available online.
- High school Program of Studies: Seventeen key modifications aimed at achieving academic success, increasing engagement and connecting learning to real-world applications.
- High School Building Project: The next public forum will be held on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Tours of the building will be offered to students, parents, and any members of the public immediately after.
- Committee member David Chee: Announced that this will be his final meeting as a member of the School Committee.
