The Ashland School Committee on April 9 approved a $44,350,743 operating budget for fiscal year 2026 after a public hearing and extended votes approving an out-of-state student trip, expanded school-choice slots and other routine school business.

Superintendent Jim Adams opened the hearing by describing the multi-month budget process and the district's priorities, including maintaining staffing and increasing program opportunities. "We have to understand that it needs to be fiscally responsible, but meeting the needs of our kids," Adams said during his presentation.

Adams told the committee and the public the $44.35 million request is the amount the committee is asking taxpayers to fund; the district's full operating cost is about $48,787,000 when federal and other non-tax revenues are included. Adams said the proposal represents a 5.95% increase over last year's amount presented to taxpayers and that roughly 79% of district spending is salaries.

During public comment the Ashland Music Association thanked the committee and administrators for recent investments in music, urged the committee to consider funding instrument maintenance (about $6,000 annually, the association said) and praised the district's award-winning ensembles. Diane Umholtz of the Ashland Music Association said the group would welcome modest help to cover instrument repair so the association can focus its fundraising on new instruments and student opportunities.

Several youth-sports volunteers urged action on athletic facilities, especially the Mendez middle school gym floor and outdoor turf fields. Liz Ackley, representing Ashland Youth Basketball, described player-safety incidents and said the league serves about 500 youths and pays rental fees to use school gyms. Committee members and town officials described the capital-appropriation process and advised residents to raise facility priorities with the Select Board, the finance committee and at town meeting.

Adams and staff also described the district's revenue mix and risks: the budget relies partly on one-time and revolving funds (including building rental, international tuition, school bus revolving and school choice revenue). Adams warned that some federal grants (Title I, IDEA and others) that fund salaried positions are stable for FY2026 but could pose risks in later years. He also said the district plans to reduce reliance on the transportation revolving fund back to a typical $300,000 level after using about $1 million from that fund in FY2025 to balance last year's budget.

Votes at a glance

- FY2026 operating budget: Motion to approve the FY2026 budget of $44,350,743 as presented. Outcome: approved. (See action entry for vote details.)

- Out-of-state travel (Quebec City, Feb. 6'9, 2026): Motion to approve the Ashland High School joint trip to Quebec City with Maynard High School. Outcome: approved.

- School choice participation (2025'26): Motion to participate and open 75 choice seats across grade levels as proposed. Outcome: approved.

- Ultimate Frisbee head coach stipend: Motion to approve the athletic stipend for the varsity Ultimate Frisbee head coach as negotiated with the union. Outcome: approved.

- Appointment to Driscoll Scholarship Committee: Motion(s) to appoint committee members (including Mary Lou Hunt). Outcome: approved.

- Consent agenda (policies reviewed; BGB first reading held separate): Motion to approve consent agenda items including several policy reviews. Outcome: approved.

Discussion, context and next steps

Adams walked the committee through district staffing and program changes embedded in the budget: a shift in the middle-school schedule that adds a full-time band teacher at Mendez, additions and reductions tied to retirements, and a reconfigured special-education staffing model that replaces some dual-certified classroom positions with building-level special-education teachers. Adams said the district estimates per-pupil spending at roughly $16,239 and emphasized steps-and-lanes salary obligations and out-of-district tuition as significant cost drivers.

On funding sources, Adams said the district receives roughly $11 million in state aid and supplements from federal entitlement grants, school choice payments and building rental fees. He described the "circuit breaker" special-education reimbursement mechanism and warned that state reimbursement rates fluctuate; "I've seen it as low as 25%," he said, noting that the state's reimbursement level would materially affect out-of-district tuition costs.

Committee members and town officials repeatedly urged residents and interest groups to attend Select Board and Finance Committee meetings and town meeting if they want capital projects such as turf replacement or gym-floor repairs prioritized. Several committee members praised the collaborative "scribe board" process (where select board, finance committee and school committee members meet) and thanked administrators for detailed budget work.

The committee closed the budget hearing and voted to adopt the FY2026 operating budget as presented. Several other formal motions were handled during the same meeting, including personnel and program housekeeping items and the out-of-state travel approval for a February 2026 Quebec City trip proposed by French teacher Alex Waldron.

Ending

With the budget approved, the committee said it will forward the requested appropriation to the Select Board for inclusion in town meeting warrant articles and continue discussions about capital priorities and long-term funding. Committee members said they would continue outreach to explain district needs and to collect community input on priorities such as fields, roofing and other capital projects.