HUDSON – Representatives from the Hudson Public Schools gave an overview of the fiscal 2025 budget and the challenges facing budget makers at the Feb. 5 meeting of the Select Board.
Superintendent Brian Reagan, Finance Director Dan Gale and School Committee Chair Steven Smith presented the details of the $44.27 million budget.
One issue centered on the Hudson Public Schools budget was transportation. Gale noted that they went out to bid for a three-year contract, but only received a single bidder, the current provider of buses to the schools.
He added, “It’s a 51% increase in FY25.”
In the last five years, the district has had a 2% increase in their transportation contract, but with this new contract, it would be a 7% increase after three years.
In addition, he said the bus storage costs, if needed, would be $290,000 in the first year.
Select Board Chair Scott Duplisea asked why there was only a single bidder. Gale said it is “pretty common” for that to happen because it is easier for the current one to make a bid as it already has the buses available. It can take a year and a half for a new bidder to get the buses and fulfill the contract, according to Gale.
“It’s a problem that’s happening annually,” said Reagan.
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One aspect of the budget discussion was the fact that the revenue received by the district would be lower than the cost of providing the current level of services; something that has been happening statewide and not just in Hudson, according to Reagan.
He said the School Choice funds and all but $100,000 in Circuit Breaker funds — which are state issued and used for special education costs — would be needed to address a budget gap.
“The costs associated with educating students continues to rise. So what we’re looking at next year, to close the budget gap for FY25, would be the use of over $4 million in one-time funds to close that gap,” said Reagan.
Gale said they are “holding out some hope” to get an increase in Chapter 70 funds.
‘Fantastic’ things occurring in HPS
Reagan highlighted some of the “fantastic things going on in the Hudson Public Schools” as they want the public schools to be a reason for people to come to and stay in Hudson.
One such thing at the high school was the Pathways program for engineering, biomedical and early childhood care where students reach a certain level of certification, Reagan said.
The Hudson Public Schools have articulation agreements with Worcester State University in the engineering and the biomedical fields, according to Reagan.
In addition, the dual language program continues to expand. The budget will support the program expanding to third grade.
Reagan discussed the conditions that contributed to the current fiscal 2025 budget, such as staffing and enrollment.
Reagan noted the district is experiencing an enrollment decline of 20% over the past 10 years, although there has been a stabilization of numbers since 2020. He said there has been a statewide enrollment decline, but Hudson has seen a slightly higher rate.
At the same time, the high-needs student population has seen an increase of 15%. High-needs students include English learners and students in special education.
“When you have students that have higher needs, you have more costs to provide them with service,” Reagan said.
Reagan noted there has been no change in administration and instructional staff, but some increases in support services like school counselors, nurses, psychologists and occupational therapists.
He added, “The goal is to have a fairly neutral staffing level from FY24 to 25. We want to make sure we’re not looking to add any more than one, if any positions, overall.”
There were support services positions that would be reclassified, Reagan said, because of the end of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grants during the pandemic that funded them.
Reagan said the aforementioned factors were the reality they faced for the 2025 fiscal year budget, but they appreciated the ongoing support of the Select Board and executive assistant.
“We recognize that we’re in this as a partner,” said Reagan.
Override?
Smith thanked members of the Finance Committee and Select Board who were able to attend the tri-board meeting in November to talk about the long-term plan for the schools and the 2025 fiscal year budget. He also thanked Executive Assistant Tom Gregory for meeting with the School Committee’s strategic goal subcommittee a few weeks ago to look at the 2026 fiscal year budget and the financial future of the district.
Another spring tri-board meeting about 2026 could be in the future for the boards because, Smith said, “We foresee that to maintain the services that we have today we’d probably need to kind of approach or discuss a Proposition 2 1/2 override.”
He said, “We, the School Committee, haven’t actually voted on the budget yet. We’re going to be doing that in March. We’ll send the final budget book once that’s available.”
