Duxbury Schools Face $2 Million in Cuts

District warns of 'significant detrimental impact' on programs, staffing

DUXBURY, MA - October 23 - Duxbury school officials are bracing for potential budget cuts of up to $2 million for the upcoming fiscal year, warning of a "significant detrimental impact" on educational programs and staffing levels.

The cuts loom as the district also considers a market adjustment to boost teacher salaries, which are currently below average, in an effort to improve retention and negotiation positions.

Superintendent Danielle Klingaman told the school committee that the district is preparing two budget scenarios for fiscal year 2026 as requested by town officials: a level-funded budget with a 2.5% increase and a "real needs" budget.

The level-funded scenario would result in approximately $2 million in cuts, Klingaman said.

"We are just really, we've just been in a very grumpy mood as we prepare this budget because we're just seeing all the work that we've done over the past few years when we've had three budgets in a row where we've been adequately funded," Klingaman said. "We're seeing the fruits of that this year. And instead of being able to enjoy finally reaching that point, we are instead tasked with this devastating budget that's going to bring us back to way beyond where we started from."

She added: "It's disappointing because it will have a negative impact on our students, staff, and our families."

The "real needs" budget would maintain current staffing and service levels while absorbing full-day kindergarten costs into the operating budget. It would also include a market adjustment for Unit A staff - teachers, specialists and guidance counselors - to address below-average compensation.

"We feel as though it puts the school committee and the administration and the teaching staff, frankly, in a terrible position at the negotiation table when we're trying to get our, the largest group of our staff members is our Unit A," Klingaman said.

She emphasized the real needs budget is "conservative" and does not include any new positions or significant expansions.

"This is not something that we are presenting saying in an ideal world, it would be so wonderful for us to have this budget," Klingaman said. "The budget work we are presenting represents the current staffing levels that we have this year where I've said a few times that this is the first year we've been adequately staffed in a really long time."

The district faces rising costs in several areas, including special education tuition and transportation. Business Manager Lisa Freely said she estimated a 10% inflation rate for transportation costs.

The school committee will hear detailed budget presentations at its Nov. 6 meeting. Members expressed concern about the potential impacts, particularly on intervention services for struggling students.

"I know at school council last year, we talked a lot about intervention and that's a big fear losing intervention for students," said committee member Kellie Bresnehan.

Klingaman said the administration will provide high-level details on potential cuts Nov. 6 but may not specify exact positions to be sensitive to staff concerns. She said many staff members are already nervous about their job security.

The school committee is expected to vote on a recommended budget in early December. That will kick off further discussions with other town boards before the budget goes to Town Meeting for approval.

In other business, School Committee member Matthew Gambino noted more than half of U.S. states have taken steps to ban or restrict cell phones in K-12 schools, suggesting Massachusetts may eventually mandate such policies.

"So this is, to me, it's like, we should be doing, in my opinion, this is just my opinion, we should be doing it," Gambino said. "And it's probably just a good warmup because my guess is apparently it's gonna be taken out of our control anyway if the state's gonna mandate because there's just so much research to support not using them."