HUDSON — Superintendent Brian Reagan gave a brief overview of the upcoming budget season to the Hudson School Committee at its Oct. 24 meeting.
He noted the timeline starts a month earlier following feedback from members of the Select Board, Executive Assistant Thomas Gregory and the Finance Committee. Gregory has to present the individual budget fairly early to the Select Board, said Reagan.
Internal meetings on the budget were held on Nov. 6 and 7, and a list will be developed on the needs of the school district. Officials will keep the agenda as it is for the Nov. 28 meeting to discuss the budget.
He said he would “do some work from November to Jan. 7 based on the feedback,” and a prioritization session with the School Committee is set for after the new year.
“We’ll have a follow-up discussion about the priorities. That’s the basic outline,” Reagan said.
The good news is that he believed there would be a big picture view of the Chapter 70 state aid sooner than they had last year. He estimated the district would find out information about the funds around Jan. 21.
School Committee member Molly MacKenzie asked if they would review or have a presentation on the five-year plan for the budget.
Director of Finance and Operations Dan Gale said there would be “a pretty high-level overview” of the budget so as to not present the same information on the plan. There would be an update on the district’s 2025 fiscal year budget needs as well.
Gale added that the budget team could make themselves available for additional information. He also noted that there could be an item on the Nov. 14 School Committee meeting agenda.
School Committee Chair Steven Smith asked if the information could be shared earlier, even if it is a couple days, in the case that “there are things we want to wrap our heads around and have questions prior.” Gale said, looking at the schedule, he could try to do so.
