The EWSD School Board is working on a budget for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year.
This school year, the district has a budget of $76,570,171, and the current plan is to cut 5-6 million from that for next year.
According to co-chair of the EWSD School Board, Laura Taylor, the Board gave guidance to administration to maintain a level budget, meaning it will be the same dollar amount for next school year as the current school year.
“Due to rising healthcare costs, inflation, and other factors, in order to get to that dollar number, $5-6 million dollars must be cut,” Taylor said.
As a student, parent, or guardian in the district, you may be wondering how these budget cuts could impact you. To help make sense of some complex language, we have identified parts of the budget that will affect many students and decoded them with the help of Taylor. Please note that all statements in this article are only proposed ideas and shouldn’t be taken as final decisions.
School Board budget language: “Athletics & Student Activities alignment 6-12”
Taylor’s simplified version: “All athletics and extracurriculars will be under the purview of one defined athletic director and staff, as opposed to separate athletic directors for the middle and high schools.”
School Board budget language: “Transportation: Evaluated walking zone expansion”
Taylor’s simplified version: “A study will be done to see if the walking zone for students can be expanded out.”
School Board budget language: “Class Size Targeting Optimal to Maximum Levels”
Taylor’s simplified version: “The average class size would lean more towards defined optimal to maximum levels, as opposed to minimum levels. Please note that this is an “average” class size.”
School Board budget language: “Grade Configuration Alignment: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12”
Taylor’s simplified version: “All three towns would have grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 grouped together, either within the same building or in its own building.”
We hope this guide helps break down some aspects of the proposed budget cuts that could impact EWSD students.
For more information on the EWSD Budget or meeting times, you may visit the website: https://www.ewsd.org/page/ewsd-budget
