LUDLOW — At a contentious meeting between the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee and School Committee, officials discussed the budget goals for fiscal year 2026, the School Choice program and transparency versus public opinion.
Superintendent Frank Tiano said that the School Department begins the budget process by examining its three largest expenses: salary, transportation and out-of-district tuition. Salaries, which he said account for three-quarters of the department budget, are usually somewhat predictable.
However, this year, the contracts are expiring for seven bargaining units. Similarly, the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative, which provides transportation for the schools, has not yet finished negotiating with its drivers. “That’s an unknown,” he said.
When students require programs or services that the district cannot provide, they are sent to external providers, with a tuition cost Ludlow must cover. FY25’s out-of-district tuition expense was $2.61 million. It has since been reduced and the amount expected for FY26 is $2.14 million. That said, Tiano cautioned the numbers can change if students are identified as having high needs or new students with high needs move into town.
Selectman Antonio Goncalves brought up the housing development on Chapin Road that is under construction and expected to be complete in spring 2025. He asked how that will affect the School Department budget. Tiano said that if 50 new students spread throughout grades from K-12 move in, the budget will be able to absorb them without having to hire more teachers. “If we get 50 third graders,” he said it would be problematic.
Tiano was asked about School Choice. School Choice is a statewide program in which families can apply to send their student to a school outside of the district where they live. School departments can opt into the program and set maximums per grade each year. He said the School Committee usually approves up to 110 School Choice slots. Currently, 84 slots are filled.
Selectman James Gennette asked if the department includes all 110 slots when setting its budget, but Tiano explained that the schools must balance the number of students it accepts against the need for extra teachers. While the schools receive $5,000 per pupil accepted through School Choice, if it allows too many into a given grade, it will have to open a new section, with an additional teacher.
Town Administrator Marc Strange turned to what he said was a “hard conversation.” He said that a 3% increase to the School Department budget has been common in recent years, and the town was likely to continue that trend. Last year, Tiano initially expected a 7% increase would be needed for level services. The actual number was 4.3%, but with the Board of Selectmen firm on a maximum 3% increase, the School Department was $453,000 under a level service budget. During that budget cycle, Tiano and the School Committee discussed eliminating seven positions to make up for the shortfall.
Strange said “divisive rhetoric” about cutting teachers is “not good for the town.”
Tiano said that he was being transparent in presenting the possibility that cuts may have been needed. “My first year here, we laid off 21 [full-time equivalent positions],” he said. Strange and Tiano sparred over the way the cuts were presented. Strange pointed out that 14 of them were transfers and only seven were layoffs, but Tiano made the case that the schools were down seven positions, regardless of whether an employee had been laid of a position had gone unfilled.
Tiano also bristled at Strange saying the schools had asked for a 9% increase that year. He said 9% was the figure needed to reach level services and not what he had presented to the board as a final request. The preliminary numbers are adjusted as the budget process progresses, he said.
“This is a communication thing,” Gennette said. He asked that the School Committee avoid discussing the ramifications of the budget numbers until they are closer to the end of the process, to avoid becoming “entrenched.”
School Committee Chair Sarah Bowler said, “The teachers know what the numbers mean,” and said they would talk about potential cuts.
“The process has been so divisive,” Strange said. “We have to be more careful about the message we send.”
Selectman Manuel Silva agreed and said, “The idea that the selectmen don’t care about the children got out there. That’s the furthest from the truth.”
Tiano said the information he presented was not intended to be politicized but, “To be transparent with my committee, I give them the state of the state.” He added that the presentations are also online in the name of transparency.
Goncalves reminded Tiano that there is only 2.5% in tax increases available to pay for increases across all departments. The schools represent 44% of the town’s operational budget.
Tiano expects to present a draft budget to the School Committee on Jan. 28, with a public hearing on Feb. 11 and a joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen on Feb. 22.
