By Betsy Levinson — Betsy@concordbridge.org
The Finance Committee is wasting no time in its effort to set spending guidelines for the town and school budgets for Fiscal Year 2026.
Chair Eric Dahlberg said at a recent meeting that he would draft letters to the town manager and committee chairs of the K-8 school district, the regional high school district, and Minuteman Regional Technical High School to outline the give-and-take process before setting of the guideline in December.
“We will look at the process and decide how to proceed,” Dahlberg said.
The FinCom will seek preliminary budget levels early and hone the numbers in conjunction with the various committees.
Guideline Subcommittee Chair Lyndsey Lis noted that the timing was “tricky” for the school committees because the start of the academic year puts demands on the staff, leaving them little time to focus on dollars and cents.
“Are there ways to make the reporting requirements less onerous?” Lis asked rhetorically. Data shows that enrollment is declining at CCHS, but the numbers may change.
Lis also asked whether the schools know of any big changes on the horizon that could change the guideline up or down.
“We could bake a cushion into the guideline,” she said. “It would be helpful to know this fall.”
‘Work as partners’
FinCom member Don Kupka said the opening of the new middle school and the closing of the Peabody building will factor into the CPS budget planning “as a one-time cost.” Consolidating the buildings is expected to save money.
“I don’t want that to get lost,” said member Lois Wasoff.
As FinCom liaison to the Middle School Building Committee, Kupka reported the school is 63 percent complete and under budget. The contingency amount stands at about $9 million.
Kupka said the schools are currently involved in labor negotiations that could affect the bottom line. Town Finance Director Anthony Ansaldi said his team is also in negotiations with the Fire Department.
“We need a continuous dialogue between the FinCom and schools and the FinCom and town,” said FinCom member Dee Ortner.
“It’s a heads-up now that the letters are coming in August,” said Dahlberg, who hopes to get data back in October. A town bylaw stipulates that the committee set a final guideline in December.
“We want to work as partners,” Lis said.
The next FinCom meeting is August 18, when capital budgets will be discussed in a joint sitdown with the Select Board.
