Abington Schools Face 5.07% Budget Increase for FY26
School Committee approves new calendar, adds level one psychology course for dual enrollment opportunity
ABINGTON - February 25 - The Abington School Department is proposing a $32,354,265 budget for fiscal year 2026, representing a 5.07% increase over the current year. The budget maintains level services with no new staff or programs added.
Superintendent Dr. Felicia Moschella presented the updated budget figures at Tuesday's School Committee meeting, noting that school officials continue to work with town officials to finalize the budget before the April 7 town meeting.
"We have been working with the town finance officials," Dr. Moschella says. "Through our continued conversations with them, we have made a couple of changes to our proposed budget."
The changes include using a 75% reimbursement rate for circuit breaker funding instead of the previously anticipated 70%, resulting in a $94,198 reduction.
Additionally, the town agreed to move $48,621 from the instructional materials budget into the capital plan.
"We'll still have those funds next year to use for instructional materials but not part of our general fund budget," Dr. Moschella explains. "They would become part of the town's capital plan to be funded along with the technology laptops and the other instruction material that we had."
The budget represents what school officials consider a level service budget, maintaining current services without additions.
"No new staff, nothing new, no new services," Dr. Moschella says. "We're in desperate need of another bus, but at this point we're not willing to cut staff to get that or cut supplies and materials that we also desperately need."
Committee member Melanie Whitney noted the potential impact of moving items to the capital plan.
"When we move items into the capital plan as a town, it means that if they need to go back into our operating plan, it makes that 5.07% look much higher even though it's the same expenses, it's just different geography," Whitney says.
Dr. Moschella acknowledged this concern and explained the risk of funding recurring needs through capital.
"When things are funded outside of the general fund budget, then it's really using what's called free cash or the one-time money that we can't automatically anticipate for next year," she says. "One of the risks of not having something like technology in our operating budget is that if next year there isn't money to fund capital items, then we still need that $240,000."
The School Committee is expected to vote on the final budget at either their next meeting in late March or at their meeting just before town meeting.
The School Committee unanimously approved the 2025-2026 school calendar.
The calendar meets structured learning time requirements of 900 hours for elementary schools and 990 hours for secondary schools. It also fulfills the teacher contract requirement of 182.5 working days.
A notable change in the calendar is that kindergarten and AEP (Abington Early Education Program) will start on the Wednesday after Labor Day instead of Tuesday.
"When there are large-scale elections the first Tuesday after Labor Day, there is a conflict at Beaver Brook in the parking lot typically with all of our new kindergarten families arriving for the first day," Dr. Christopher Basta, Assistant Superintendent, explains.
"We think it's probably a good practice to get in the habit of having kindergarten and AEP start on the Wednesday after Labor Day so that we never have to worry about kindergarten parents in the parking lot during an election again on their first day."
The calendar includes a winter break with school in session on Monday, December 22, a half day on Tuesday, December 23, and students returning on Monday, January 5.
Committee Chair Chris Coyle noted that there were "different iterations" of the calendar, primarily revolving around the Christmas break, but this version "made the most sense."
The committee also approved adding a level one psychology course to the program of studies for 2025-2026.
The course is currently offered as an unleveled elective, but making it a level one course will allow it to be offered for college credit through the dual enrollment partnership with Quincy College.
"The content of the course will not be changing. This is really just semantics, it's changing the name and making it a level one versus being unleveled," Dr. Basta says.
Students who have already requested the unleveled psychology course for next year will be informed of the change and given the opportunity to switch to the level one semester course for college credit.
Committee member Heidi Hernandez asked if the school is exploring options to offer additional dual enrollment courses.
"I can't say what they're exploring, but I can say that it will probably depend on the success of this program as we dip our toes into the dual enrollment arena," Dr. Basta responded. "What the response is and how students and families feel the interaction is with Quincy College."
The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 25, at 6:30 p.m. in the Abington Middle High School Library.