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Superintendent’s Message
Dear Norton Families,
On Wednesday March 4th, I presented the district’s proposed FY27 school budget as part of our required public budget forum. I am sharing the presentation slides with families so that anyone who was unable to attend can review the information and learn more about the budget proposal for the 2026–2027 school year.
The FY27 proposal represents a needs-based budget. This means the budget was developed based on the most important needs across our schools and reflects what we believe is necessary to continue the strong teaching and learning happening in our classrooms each day.
Some highlights of the proposal include:
Adding a special education position at Norton High School Increasing time and support for English Learner (EL) education Reallocating elementary classrooms to add an additional 5th grade class at the HAY, while keeping class sizes in other grades consistent with current levels
This budget was unanimously approved by the Norton School Committee and now moves forward as the School Committee’s recommended budget.
At the same time, I want to be transparent with our community about the broader financial discussions happening at the town level. While I do not anticipate reductions being as significant as those we faced in FY25, it is unlikely that the schools will receive the full budget request as proposed. One possibility that has been discussed is level funding, which means the school department would receive the same amount of funding from the town as we did this year, without an increase to account for rising costs. If that were the case, we would need to reduce approximately $1.6 million from the proposed FY27 budget.
In recent years, the district has already made a number of difficult reductions in FY24 and FY25. As a result, there are fewer areas in the budget where adjustments can be made without affecting programs or services that directly support students. In the coming weeks, I will be working closely with our principals and administrative team to carefully review the budget and identify any potential areas for savings.
Throughout this process, our goal will always be to minimize the impact on student learning and maintain the strong programs and supports that our students rely on. I encourage families to review the presentation and reach out with any questions. Community engagement and understanding are important, and I will continue to keep families informed as we learn more.
Thank you for your continued support of Norton Public Schools and our students.
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