At its meeting on Wednesday, the Duxbury School Committee voted to recommend a fiscal year 2026 budget that will increase this year’s operating budget by 2.5 percent. While I am obligated to support the committee’s decision and will get behind this budget, I want to explain why I voted against it.

According to Superintendent Klingaman, the 2.5 percent budget forces the district to eliminate more than 20 positions across our schools as of June 30. The draconian cuts in staff will result in increased class sizes, as well as a reduction in course offerings at the middle and high schools. And these are just a few of the austerity measures that will erode the important quality-of-learning experience that Duxbury students and families rightfully expect.

I simply could not vote for a budget that devastates our school system.

By contrast, the “real needs” budget option would have maintained services at current levels, while still exercising financial responsibility. For example, as a result of a decline in student enrollment and other factors, six positions would have been eliminated in this budget. While no one wants to lay off educators, fiscal prudence calls for the necessary downsizing.

The “real needs” budget is just that—real needs. It’s not by any means irresponsible or even aspirational.

I was also frustrated by what appeared to be a breakdown in process. Unlike in past years, the Finance Committee voted its budget recommendation earlier in the week, in advance of the School Committee’s vote. This reversal—coupled with the baseless claim that if the SC were to recommend the real needs budget it would somehow result in the school district siphoning funds from other town departments (huh?)—did not make sense to me, and in my view confused the discussion.

The bottom line is that I did not find anything in the real needs budget that is not critical to enabling DPS to fulfill its mission.

The 2.5 percent austerity budget, on the other hand, erases our progress and puts the district on a backward path.

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Note: The views and opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect the official policies, positions, or endorsements of the Duxbury School Committee. For official information about Duxbury Public Schools and the Duxbury School Committee, please visit duxbury.k12.ma.us.