School Committee, November 24, 2025

The town published an agenda for this meeting. No minutes have been published; the recording is the only record, and what follows is a guide to it.

athleticsbudgetbudget fy27budget fy28chapter 70contracts and unionscurriculumenrollmentfacilitiesfeesgrantshealth insurancehigh schoolhiringlegalmiddle schoolout of districtoverridepersonnelprimary schoolschool choicespecial educationstaffingstate aidsuperintendent reporttechnologytown departmentstransferstransportationturkey hill

Present: the chair (Select Board) (Select Board Chair); Jean Russell (Select Board member, remote); Mike R. (Select Board member, remote); Mr. Menard (Finance Committee Chair); Mr. Skullbury (School Committee Chair); Dr. Fortuna (Superintendent); Chris (Business Manager/Administrator); Anthony Sculimbrene (School Committee member); Caesar (Select Board member); Anna (Finance Committee member); Renee (board member (unclear which board)). 1 of 11 matched to the board’s posted roster; the rest, in italics, are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

No substantive votes heard. 3 procedural.

Transfers

The money

1. ▶ 6:24Health insurance projection FY27-29

   The district assumed a 20% annual health insurance increase for FY27 through FY29, projecting a large rise from FY23 actuals.

   as heard:about roughly $3 million20% increase$6.395 million

2. ▶ 7:09Electricity costs

   Electricity costs were shown rising from FY23 to a much higher FY29 projection, tied to a locked-in per-kWh rate with the district's provider.

   as heard:170,889$4182$418,241

3. ▶ 7:30Heating costs FY27-29

   Heating costs were projected lower than electricity and are currently under review for possible savings.

   as heard:148,320152,769157,352

4. ▶ 8:53Bus/transportation contract

   The transportation contract is described as effectively uncompetitive since no other vendor has bid in years, making the cost locked in regardless of market forces.

5. ▶ 9:05FY26 transportation under-budgeting

   The general education transportation line was under-budgeted for FY26 despite being under contract, which will require a line-item transfer.

   as heard:over $10,000

6. ▶ 23:29Primary school interventionist (1.0)

   A requested 1.0 interventionist position to address early literacy and math gaps, costed at a master's-with-experience salary step.

   as heard:$72,441

7. ▶ 24:13Kindergarten paraprofessional (1.0)

   A new kindergarten paraprofessional position was proposed, to be funded by the primary school through reductions in general supplies.

   as heard:$22,25$22,000

8. ▶ 30:36Paraprofessional hourly pay

   A board member asked what the paraprofessional salary works out to hourly, comparing it unfavorably to retail wages.

   as heard:183615251575

9. ▶ 56:30High school world language teacher (1.0)

   A new world language teacher is requested to avoid delaying language instruction or cutting the Latin program for a large incoming class.

   as heard:72k

10. ▶ 59:10Turkey Hill interventionist insurance cost

    The Turkey Hill interventionist restoration carries an associated insurance cost figure discussed alongside the high school positions.

    as heard:312K

11. ▶ 59:12High school positions insurance cost

    Of the two new high school positions, only one carries a health insurance cost since the other is already part-time with insurance.

    as heard:31.6

12. ▶ 1:04:39Special-ed transportation van/monitor cost

    Adding one van with a monitor to a transportation route that can't be regionalized for two students was cited as a striking cost example.

    as heard:$70,000

13. ▶ 1:09:12Full-time athletic director salary estimate

    A guesstimated salary range was given for making the athletic director position full-time again.

    as heard:low 90shigh 80s

14. ▶ 1:12:31Historical AD stipend (2019)

    The athletic director was previously paid as a stipend rather than a full position, cited to contrast with the current full-time ask.

    as heard:about $50,000$6,000 to $10,000

15. ▶ 1:21:45Central office coaching restructuring

    Eliminating the reading coach and converting the math coach to a partly direct-service instructional specialist role was costed as a small net add, since the individual would move to the teachers' contract.

    as heard:approximately $10,000

16. ▶ 1:25:53Data reporting manager / assistant business manager restructuring

    Reducing the data reporting manager to half-time while adding a new assistant business manager position was presented as a net savings.

    as heard:approximately $35,000about $4,000net savings of $31,000

17. ▶ 1:34:43Central office restructuring total

    The net effect of the central office restructuring was summarized as roughly breakeven once insurance costs were included.

    as heard:$31,000$31,281

18. ▶ 1:35:48Total cost of restored positions/restructuring

    The estimated total cost of all proposed restorations and restructuring, assuming highest-tier insurance for all new hires, was presented as the headline ask.

    as heard:$979,842979842

19. ▶ 1:37:11FY25 available budget status

    The remaining available FY25 budget and percent used were reported as the year wrapped up.

    as heard:$556,13697.8%

20. ▶ 1:37:52FY26 total budget with free cash

    The FY26 total budget including one-time free cash was broken into salaries and expenses.

    as heard:26,287,47417,110,3949,177,080$500,000

21. ▶ 1:39:19FY27 projected salaries/expenses (level service)

    Level-service FY27 salaries and expenses were projected without any of the new requested positions included.

    as heard:17,376,419,875,77227,252,173

22. ▶ 1:41:10FY28 projected salaries/expenses

    FY28 projections show expenses rising notably, driven largely by health insurance and special education cost growth.

    as heard:17,767,83810,695,991

23. ▶ 1:46:16FY29 projected salaries/expenses/total

    FY29 projections were given as the final year of the three-year outlook.

    as heard:17,881,87412,39,9430,60,551

24. ▶ 1:46:38FY26-to-FY27 percentage increase

    Excluding the one-time free cash, the level-service FY27 budget represents a percentage increase over FY26.

    as heard:about 5.6%

25. ▶ 1:48:03FY26 free cash split between salaries and expenses

    Of the $500,000 in free cash used in FY26, most but not all was applied to salaries.

    as heard:about 443,000

26. ▶ 1:49:29FY27 needs-based total budget

    Combining the level-service budget with the cost of restored positions produced the total needs-based FY27 figure.

    as heard:28,232,15

27. ▶ 1:50:54Health insurance estimate vs. actual (override context)

    During the override discussion, the health insurance increase was initially estimated much higher than what it actually came in at, prompting a request to isolate that line going forward.

    as heard:almost $700,000$368,000

28. ▶ 1:53:57Staff enrolled in health insurance

    A count of district staff currently enrolled in some form of health insurance was given as roughly half to sixty percent of staff.

    as heard:166 staffabout 50 60%

29. ▶ 1:54:40Cherry sheet school choice tuition-in revenue decline

    Incoming school-choice tuition revenue on the cherry sheet has fallen sharply over five to six years, shifting cost onto the town budget.

    as heard:about $500,000around $100,000$400,00015.8%

30. ▶ 1:56:03School choice per-pupil funding vs. cost

    The district receives a set amount per accepted school-choice student but the district's own per-pupil cost is much higher.

    as heard:$5,000around 13,400

31. ▶ 2:17:40Social worker/guidance line growth

    Spending on social workers and guidance rose sharply from FY24 to FY25, prompting a question about whether the level can be reduced.

    as heard:460771$300,000 increase67%

32. ▶ 2:18:00Psychologist services line growth

    Psychologist services spending also rose from FY24 to FY25.

    as heard:19028790,00048%

33. ▶ 2:26:53Fee revenue collected (transportation/athletics)

    A running total of fee revenue collected this year from bus and athletic fees was reported as higher than expected.

    as heard:about 50,000

34. ▶ 2:32:07Student Opportunity Act funding to neighboring districts

    A state senator's forum remark that Leominster and Fitchburg have received substantially more Student Opportunity Act funding was cited as context for state funding disparities.

    as heard:$50 million

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 1:37:52Business manager to research and report back on the source of negative transfers shown in the FY25 budget summary.
• ▶ 1:50:54Presenters agreed to isolate and separately report the health insurance cost increase from the total budget ask going forward, so the override/budget conversation doesn't repeat prior confusion.
• ▶ 1:52:35Business office to provide a roster-level breakdown of health plan enrollment (family vs. individual, by count) to support more precise budgeting of new positions' insurance costs.
• ▶ 1:43:51Superintendent to provide historical math/reading achievement data over time to the requesting board member.
• ▶ 1:14:28Administration to bring back more history on when the athletic director position moved from part-time to full-time, and a data-backed model for any renewed AD proposal.
• ▶ 2:24:46Administration agreed to present a plan/budget picture for grants and revolving funds, with and without grant funding, as part of the next budget cycle.
• ▶ 2:22:16A board member is drafting a proposed regulatory/statutory revision to shift medically-related out-of-district service costs onto private insurance, continuing prior advocacy on bus-contract competitive bidding requirements.

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• staffing57 min · 35%
• budget fy2733 min · 20%
• curriculum28 min · 17%
• special education25 min · 16%
• state aid20 min · 12%
• override18 min · 11%
• middle school17 min · 10%
• athletics17 min · 10%
• out of district16 min · 10%
• hiring14 min · 9%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:04Call to order, pledge of allegiance, open meeting law noticeprocedural · 1:04 long
2. ▶ 1:08Roll call of select board, finance committee and school committeeprocedural · 0:43 long
3. ▶ 1:51Superintendent frames the meeting as forward-looking (FY27-29), defers FY25 questions to a later foruminformational · 2:45 long · budget fy27, superintendent report
4. ▶ 4:36Contract terms and budget assumptions: enrollment, contractual raises, health insuranceinformational · 3:16 long · contracts and unions, health insurance, enrollment
5. ▶ 7:52Utilities and bus transportation contract assumptions; FY26 transportation under-budgeting flaggeddiscussed, transfer to follow · 2:07 long · transportation, transfers, budget fy26
6. ▶ 9:59High-need student trends, school choice trend, technology and supply/tariff assumptionsinformational · 2:27 long · enrollment, school choice, technology
7. ▶ 12:26Literacy data presentation: early screener and ELA assessment results by grade, ELL growthinformational · 8:35 long · curriculum, special education
8. ▶ 21:01Rationale for interventionist positions based on literacy datainformational · 2:28 long · curriculum, staffing
9. ▶ 23:29Primary school staff restorations: interventionist and kindergarten paraprofessionaldiscussed, no vote · 5:17 long · primary school, staffing, hiring
10. ▶ 28:46Paraprofessional pay and hiring difficulty debate; sustainability of the model questionedno resolution · 8:54 long · contracts and unions, hiring, staffing
11. ▶ 37:40Alternative staffing models, parent volunteers, and out-of-district placement cost tradeoffsno resolution · 6:21 long · special education, out of district, staffing
12. ▶ 44:01Turkey Hill and Middle School interventionist restorations; capacity math for interventionistsdiscussed, no vote · 4:58 long · turkey hill, middle school, staffing
13. ▶ 48:59Interventionist scheduling flexibility, tutoring alternatives, pre-K discussioninformational · 6:21 long · primary school, curriculum
14. ▶ 55:20High school world language teacher request tied to a large incoming class and Latin program riskdiscussed, no vote · 2:26 long · high school, staffing, curriculum
15. ▶ 57:46High school music teacher restoration (0.4 to full-time) to reduce study hall overusediscussed, no vote · 2:24 long · high school, staffing, curriculum
16. ▶ 1:00:10Small-district identity debate; bridge/TLC program restoration to avoid out-of-district placementsdiscussed, no vote · 5:59 long · high school, out of district, special education
17. ▶ 1:06:09District-wide English language learner teacher position requestdiscussed, no vote · 1:22 long · staffing, special education
18. ▶ 1:07:31Athletic director / assistant principal full-time restoration debateno resolution, more data requested · 11:50 long · athletics, staffing, middle school
19. ▶ 1:19:21Sports co-ops and this year's athletics budget managementinformational · 1:43 long · athletics
20. ▶ 1:21:04Central office restructuring: eliminate reading coach, shift math coach to instructional specialistdiscussed, no vote · 4:49 long · personnel, staffing
21. ▶ 1:25:53Data reporting manager reduced, assistant business manager created; town payroll/technology modernization discussiondiscussed, no vote · 8:08 long · personnel, town departments, technology
22. ▶ 1:34:01Total cost of all restored positions and restructuring presentedinformational · 3:10 long · budget fy27, staffing
23. ▶ 1:37:11FY25 budget status and unresolved negative transfer questionreferred for follow-up · 1:44 long · budget, transfers
24. ▶ 1:38:55FY26 baseline and FY27-FY29 three-year salary/expense projectionsinformational · 7:43 long · budget fy27, budget fy28
25. ▶ 1:46:38Percentage increase calculation and apples-to-apples health insurance requestdecision reached to isolate insurance figure · 3:13 long · budget fy27, health insurance
26. ▶ 1:49:51Needs-based FY27 total clarified; roster-level health plan detail requesteddecision reached · 6:09 long · budget fy27, health insurance
27. ▶ 1:56:00School choice/cherry sheet tuition decline and chapter 70 enrollment sensitivityinformational · 6:44 long · school choice, chapter 70, state aid
28. ▶ 2:02:44Utilities budget vs. actuals question (electric locked-in rate, heating trend)informational · 3:50 long · facilities, budget fy27
29. ▶ 2:06:34Long-range outlook: whether math needs and future overrides loom beyond literacy investmentno resolution · 6:15 long · budget fy28, override, curriculum
30. ▶ 2:12:49Affordability and prioritization framing; level-service necessity emphasizedinformational · 4:51 long · budget fy27, override
31. ▶ 2:17:40Social worker, psychologist and BCBA staffing cost growth discussioninformational · 3:11 long · special education, staffing
32. ▶ 2:20:51Legislative advocacy: medical cost-shifting to insurance, bus safety competitive biddingongoing, decision to keep pursuing · 3:55 long · legal, out of district, transportation
33. ▶ 2:24:46Request for grants/revolving fund transparency in next year's budget presentationdecision reached · 1:47 long · grants, budget fy27
34. ▶ 2:26:33Fee revenue update on transportation and athletics, equity concerns about feesinformational · 3:07 long · fees, transportation, athletics
35. ▶ 2:29:40Recap of legislative education-funding forum and state funding disparitiesinformational · 5:50 long · chapter 70, state aid
36. ▶ 2:35:30Proposition 2.5 history and debate over state funding share to townsno resolution · 7:15 long · override, state aid, tax rate
37. ▶ 2:42:45Closing remarks and adjournment of all three boardsvoted (adjournment) · 1:27 long

What the captions could not carry

• Several presenter names are unclear or possibly mistranscribed, including the person introduced as 'Mamera' who may be the same person later addressed as 'Chris'.
• The finance committee chair's name is rendered as 'Mr. Skullbury' for the school committee chair and may be a caption error.
• Several dollar figures are garbled with duplicated or transposed digits, e.g. electricity FY29 ('$4182, $418,241'), FY29 expenses ('12,39,94'), FY29 total budget ('30,60,551'), FY26 salaries ('17,110 $10,394'), and the needs-based increase figure ('$1,944,51').
• Many contributions are attributed only to '>>' with no speaker identification, making it impossible to attribute several questions and answers to specific board members.
• The exact wording and full outcome of the finance committee and select board adjournment votes are partially overlapping/garbled in the transcript.
• The specific dollar figure for the Turkey Hill interventionist and the two high school positions' combined insurance cost ('312K', '31.6') is unclear/possibly mis-heard.
• Whether 'Anna' and 'Renee' are finance committee, select board, or school committee members is not stated explicitly in the captions.

Written 2026-09-13 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/school-committee/2025-11-24--J6CegBuG44.json — 3,966 caption segments, sha256 6747ea84f548…. All recorded meetings.