Duxbury School Committee Splits 3-2 on $46.5M Budget
Kindergarten Tuition & Data Gaps Fuel Dissent
DUXBURY - December 10, 2025 - In a divided 3-2 vote, the Duxbury School Committee approved a $46.5 million budget for Fiscal Year 2027, sending a spending plan to the town that increases operations by 4.83% but leaves unresolved questions about transparency and equity. The contentious approval followed a heated debate over the district’s continued reliance on kindergarten tuition and “opaque” special education data, with members Jen Weedon and Kathryn Marshall casting dissenting votes.
The Full Story
The Committee’s approval of the $46,474,501 budget comes as the district attempts to stabilize after a year of significant cuts following a failed override. While Superintendent Dr. Danielle Klingaman described the proposal as a “strategic needs-based plan” designed to restore essential staffing, the decision to maintain tuition fees for full-day kindergarten and the lack of clear data on special education efficacy drove a wedge between committee members.
Kindergarten Tuition: “Pitting” Parents Against Staff? The most emotional flashpoint was the inclusion of full-day kindergarten tuition revenue in the budget’s structure. Member Kathryn Marshall argued that while she philosophically supports free full-day kindergarten, the town’s financial reality—including capital needs for the Alden School and HVAC repairs—made it fiscally irresponsible to prioritize it over other critical needs this year.
“I just worry that we would hurt ourselves in supporting... the staff and the leadership... if we’re going to try... that is almost half of what the ask is,” Marshall said, suggesting the committee look at generating revenue through fees rather than an override ask for this specific item.
Member Laurel Deacon pushed back strongly, arguing that if the district believes full-day kindergarten is essential for academic success, charging for it is inequitable. “I do not understand how we can charge tuition... for public education that is necessary,” Deacon said, rejecting the narrative of “pitting kindergarten against FTEs”.
Resident Jay Zysk also urged the committee to look at the “bigger picture,” arguing that the socialization provided by full-day school is as critical as classroom instruction.
“The lunchroom, the music room, the art room, the playground, those are curricular experiences too... and those are the things that are cut short or eliminated if you’re not in kindergarten for the full day.” — Jay Zysk [01:40:22]
“Opaque” Data and Special Education Member Jen Weedon, who also voted against the budget, focused her dissent on what she described as a lack of transparency and strategic alignment, particularly regarding the district’s $9 million Special Education cost center. Weedon cited publicly available data showing massive spikes in disability categories—such as a 96% increase in health impairments and 138% in autism—and expressed frustration that her requests for internal data to contextualize these numbers had gone unanswered.
“I can’t explain to our community... how this recommended budget advances equitable outcomes... because... those requests have remained unfulfilled,” Weedon stated [47:57].
Director of Special Education Bernard “B.J.” McNamara disputed the public data Weedon cited, attributing the apparent spikes to reporting errors in the state’s “Radar” system caused by a charter school being incorrectly aggregated with Duxbury’s numbers. “The percentage increase that you cited... is incorrect,” McNamara said, clarifying that the actual number of students with disabilities has remained consistent at around 465 students [01:16:57]. He promised a full presentation to clean up the data and provide accurate trend lines.
DECA Trip & Student Privacy In other business, the Committee unanimously approved an overnight trip for the DECA club to attend a state conference. The DECA advisor, a chemistry teacher, made a passionate pitch for the growing program, noting she has been funding parts of it out of her own pocket and is seeking to double student participation this year [02:24:20].
The committee also approved a new policy on Student Data Privacy (JNDG), designed to protect student information in an era of increasing digital tools and AI usage [02:36:03].
Why It Matters
The 3-2 split vote signals significant friction within the School Committee as Duxbury approaches another potential override season. The dissent from Weedon and Marshall suggests that the “business as usual” approach to budgeting—where increases are passed with the hope that the town will find the money—may be facing skepticism even from within the district’s governing body. For taxpayers, the continued reliance on kindergarten tuition means families with young children will continue to bear a direct cost for public education, while the questions around special education spending suggest that the district may need to provide far more granular data to win voter support at the Annual Town Meeting.
Official Minutes & Data
Key Motions & Votes
Motion: To approve the FY27 Budget Grand Total of $46,474,501.
Outcome: PASSED (3-2)
Vote: * Yes: Matt Gambino, Laurel Deacon, Kellie Bresnehan
No: Jen Weedon, Kathryn Marshall [02:13:20]
Motion: To approve Cost Center 2000 (Curriculum & Instruction) - $35,096,155
Outcome: PASSED (3-2)
Vote: Weedon and Marshall voted Nay [01:45:21]
Motion: To approve DHS Overnight Trip for DECA Conference.
Outcome: PASSED (Unanimous) [02:35:11]
Public Comment
Jay Zysk (Resident): Spoke in support of funding full-day kindergarten, arguing that the social and “soft skill” benefits of the full-day experience are essential for children in a smartphone/AI era, and that charging tuition removes money from the local economy [01:39:24].
What’s Next
Finance Committee Review: The budget now moves to the Finance Committee for review.
Special Education Presentation: Director B.J. McNamara is scheduled to present a detailed “clean” data report on special education trends in January to address the discrepancies discussed.