On December 10, the Duxbury School Committee voted to approve a Fiscal Year 2027 budget that represents a 4.83% increase over the current year. That vote marked the end of our internal deliberation phase, but it signals the beginning of an equally important phase: advocacy and alignment.

Now that the School Committee has formally adopted a budget, our role shifts from scrubbing the numbers to making the case to the town. We must articulate why this funding is necessary to preserve the core educational services our community expects.

To that end, I want to share the schedule for the next few weeks and invite you to participate in the conversation.

Collaboration with the Finance Committee

The budget process is a relay race. We have passed the baton (our voted budget) to the Finance Committee and the Town Manager for their review.

On Tuesday, January 13, members of the School Committee and school administration will attend the Finance Committee meeting at 6:30 PM. Our goal is simple: to be present, to answer questions, and to provide whatever clarity FinCom needs to make their recommendation to the town.

While the Finance Committee has their own important work to do, we believe in being available to support their process with data and context.

Two Community Advocacy Sessions

In my post about the budget process, I mentioned a commitment to a Phase 2 of community engagement—sessions designed to explain the budget we passed and answer your questions directly.

We have scheduled two informal advocacy sessions at the Duxbury Free Library. These are opportunities for you to hear from School Committee members, ask questions about the 4.83% request, and understand what this budget delivers for our students.

Please mark your calendars:

Session 1: Tuesday, January 20 at 7:00 PM
Session 2: Monday, February 23 at 7:00 PM

In addition, we are meeting on Friday, January 16 to prepare for the advocacy sessions, and to workshop ideas for communicating the school budget leading up to Town Meeting.

No matter your questions about how this budget fits into the town’s long-term fiscal picture, I encourage you to attend. We want to ensure that when Town Meeting arrives in March, every resident feels informed and confident in the decision before them.

I look forward to seeing you there.

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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.