District investments key driver in $51.38 million budget request

Superintendent Karen Zaleski and Weston Public Schools administrators unveiled the district’s fiscal year 2027 budget on Jan. 12, as the school plans to make long-term investments in learning.

The district is proposing a $51.38 million budget, a 3.99%, or nearly $1.97 million increase over FY26’s $49.41 million budget. The proposed budget is in line with the district’s average increase of 3.21% over the last six years, according to Zaleski.

Zaleski said this year’s budget development was focused on being “fiscally responsible, with a K-12 vision in mind,” while committing to investments the district discussed in December. Those investments include maximizing instructional time, expanding and strengthening inclusive special education services and modernizing district technology.

“We had to be mindful that the building project is on the horizon – even though the MSBA has accepted us into the eligibility period – that is on our mind,” Zaleski said, referring to the upcoming High School/Middle School building project currently under discussion.

Investment proposals include new hardware and software for district technology, two full-time employees in the elementary schools, a new full-time employee in the high school, two special educators and a 0.75 full-time-equivalent world language seventh grade teacher, among others.

To meet these investment proposals, the district needed to make several reductions in its budget, including office aides in the middle and high schools, three high school learning assistants, a student support assistant at Field Elementary School, a nursing administrative assistant and a restructuring of Case House.

Zaleski, as well as the middle and high school principals, noted the office aides’ job responsibilities are covered by other positions, the nursing department is fully staffed and more-efficient scheduling reduces the need for the three learning assistants.

The initial investment requests were larger, though, and if all of the district’s proposed investments were included in the budget, it would have required a 7.18% increase. To maintain a responsible budget request, Zaleski said several investments had to be reduced, including cutting a request to add three full-time employees to support the high school’s new schedule down to one new position.

The reduction of those additional employees caught the attention of several School Committee members, who said it seemed like the district was pulling back educational opportunities in the name of keeping the budget under its target of a 4% increase.

“How firm is that?” Jane Li asked, noting the district’s commitment to the new high school schedule and more learning opportunities. Fellow School Committee member Daina Selvig added the list of investments that were reduced doesn’t “sound like this rich shopping list.”

High School Principal Susan Bairstow said adding three positions would be ideal, but developing a budget is about making “fiscally responsible decisions as a team.” Additionally, she noted there are “so many unknowns,” and she can come back next year, once the school has more information about how the new schedule is working, to ask for more employees if needed.

“We want it all, just like you want it all,” Bairstow said. “We’re trying to be very mindful about what are the things we could do without – we don’t want to do without – but what we could do without.”

Zaleski emphasized the importance of “whole-district stabilization” in this budget, especially as the middle school and high school building project looms in the distance.

“When we think of going over 4[%] with the building project on the horizon, we’re trying to responsibly prepare for all of it,” Zaleski said.

School Committee Chair Adam Newman noted Zaleski’s budget is not set in stone – FY26’s budget changed after the initial presentation – and these sorts of discussions can guide district priorities.

“The goal today is to not answer everything; the goal is to get it all out,” Newman said.

The school budget’s public hearing is set for Monday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. at the Case House and on Zoom.

The district’s proposed budget slide show can be found on its website or at this link: bit.ly/3ZbZjYm