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BOE Asks for Another Iteration of the School Budget

Earlier in January, Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Laura Norbut presented a preliminary version of the school budget that would have required eliminating 11 full-time employees. After feedback from the Board of Education (BOE), Dr. Norbut returned to the January 27, 2025, meeting with a new version of the 2025-2026 budget that represented a 4.93% increase (up from the 4.53%). Still, the schools will lose some staff.


Dr. Norbut has been very clear that a budget increase of 9.88% would be necessary just to maintain the status quo. Understanding that the likelihood of Stafford’s BOE approving a budget increase that high was next to nothing, she presented a more conservative plan. According to the most recent budget presentation: “These reductions total $1,549,192.22, which include the elimination of 8.0 FTE positions. Reductions of this magnitude required establishing a new pathway forward, including examining our health insurance model, redesigning the Multi-Tiered System of Supports for our students, reimagining educational technology in the district, and multi-year planning for the maintenance needs of our schools. Community support is vital to the pathway forward and the future we want to create for the students of Stafford Public Schools.”


A graph illustrating how the school budget is allocated. Source: The budget presentation for the 1/27/25 Stafford BOE meeting.
A graph illustrating how the school budget is allocated. Source: The budget presentation for the 1/27/25 Stafford BOE meeting.


One of the big changes will be at Stafford Middle School, where next year’s budget calls for the elimination of two ELA teachers. Each grade has two ELA teachers, but the curriculum is changing to integrate reading and composition classes. Additionally, most eighth graders have not been taking a reading class. So, the new plan will leave two ELA teachers in the sixth grade and one each for the seventh and eighth grades. 


The district will be losing other positions as well, like interventionists and a multi-lingual learner (MLL) teacher. BOE member Eileen Bartlett said, “I personally don’t think it does our students justice to take away an interventionist. I’d support a higher percentage if it meant we could keep that.” 


A full accounting of the most recent budget adjustments presented to the BOE. Learn more here.


Shana Boland echoed that sentiment, saying she would support another version of the budget with an additional increase. Dr. Norbut said a 5.24% increase would be necessary to get another interventionist back into the budget. Chair Sara Kelly said that even though she understood the town’s history of not approving large budget increases, she felt the board needed to advocate for what the district needs. 


During the public comment portion of the meeting, several teachers stood up to speak about how the loss of the MLL teacher would impact their day. They said that when they have a student who does not speak English in their class, having an MLL teacher in the room makes it easier for them to communicate and lets teachers give more attention to all the students. In other words, the loss of the MLL teacher impacts more than just the MLL students. 


But the loss of staff was not the only topic on people’s minds. Board member Aaron Hoffman criticized the town for shifting about $100,000 of costs to the schools. “Our budget should go to educating students,” he said. He said the move to share costs for yearly audits, among other things, lacked foresight and made the budget situation even more challenging. Hoffman, however, also said he did not see himself voting for more than a 5% increase. 


Ultimately, though, most of the board seemed ready to support a higher budget increase and asked Dr. Norbut to return to the February 10 meeting with another version of the budget proposal. 


Source: Source: The budget presentation for the 1/27/25 Stafford BOE meeting.
Source: Source: The budget presentation for the 1/27/25 Stafford BOE meeting.

This year’s deficit and its impact on next year’s budget


To understand where the schools currently stand, it’s important to consider the 2024-2025 budget deficit. At the end of 2024, Dr. Norbut issued a budget freeze, largely due to underfunded budget lines and bigger-than-expected special education costs. The $274,100 budget deficit projected at the time has since risen to more than $490,000. 


One of the major 2025-2026 budget drivers the interim superintendent points to is fuel and electricity costs. This line item was underfunded last year, and to prevent more problematic budget freezes next year, utility costs need to be budgeted appropriately. Additionally, the schools currently expect to receive only 64% of their excess cost reimbursements from the state, which means the district will receive less than anticipated, which was already less than the state is supposed to give Stafford. 


The self-insurance fund continues to be an issue. At the end of December the fund had a cash balance of more than $923,000, and the district thought there might be $100,000 balance at the end of the fiscal year. However, the district’s insurance advisor now projects a deficit of $30,000. The risk the district assumes under the self-insurance model is one of the main reasons it is now considering moving to the state partnership plan that the rest of the town is on.


If the district does not find ways to save more and make up for the deficits in the 2024-2025 budget and the self-insurance fund, the town could be on the hook. The schools would ultimately need to return to the town and request a supplemental budget appropriation. Indeed, everyone can agree that no one wants this outcome. Still, it’s a very real possibility and results from a budget that has been underfunded for years, leaving the schools with no cushion for unexpected expenses or emergencies.  

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