PLYMOUTH — September 28, 2026 — Plymouth school administrators told the School Committee on Monday that a decade of cost containment has left almost nothing outside personnel to cut, as Chapter 70 aid fell from 26.31% of the operating budget in FY20 to 23.53% in FY27. Balancing future budgets, they said, will take a community decision on local tax investment, service reductions or other choices.
The Full Story
The warning opened a five-part Budget Education Series, listed on the agenda as the superintendent’s presentation.
From FY20 to FY27, the district’s total operating budget grew from $100.2 million to $133 million, while Chapter 70 aid rose from $26.37 million to $31.32 million. The presentation put the budget’s growth at 32.8% and state aid’s at 18.8%. State aid covered 15.1% of the new costs, it said, leaving local property taxes to carry 84.9%.
And as we head into FY28, level service costs will likely exceed that baseline revenue growth. And we can anticipate that for sure. So balancing our future budgets is really gonna require a conscious community decision regarding local municipal tax investment, service reductions, or other decisions.
— Superintendent Chris Campbell, Budget Education Series presentation, Part 1 57:27
The presentation said contractual raises, state-mandated services, health care and utilities grow 4½% to 6% a year just to maintain level services, while Proposition 2½ caps the levy and the Chapter 70 formula caps aid. The district plans on level state aid, stabilizing at 23% to 24% of the budget, unless the state changes its funding formula.
Circuit breaker reimbursement has not closed the gap. Eligible high-cost special education expenses rose from $6.84 million in FY20 to $10.43 million in FY26, while reimbursement rose from $2.85 million to $4.7 million. The district still paid $6.38 million of those costs in FY26.
Grants and revolving accounts cannot fill the hole, the presentation said: Title I and IDEA money is restricted, and paying permanent staff from temporary grants or one-time reserves sets up a steeper cliff.
Much of the session covered past savings. Solar saved the district $1.51 million in 2026 alone. Sending 12 students to an out-of-district collaborative would cost a net $730,854 after circuit breaker reimbursement; educating them in the new STRIVE program at Nathaniel Morton costs $373,615. The district’s in-district specialized programs now serve 280 students.
In FY27, salaries rose 4.14%, adding just over $4 million, while supplies and materials fell 1.77% and all non-salary lines rose 0.84%. The district has not had to raise class sizes, cut electives or eliminate staff, according to the presentation. It cited school consolidations and grade reconfigurations as steps other communities have taken, not proposals for Plymouth.
Committee members welcomed the series. Vice Chair Katherine Jackson asked that later sessions explain why school spending matters to residents with no children in the district, including those on fixed incomes. Christina Bryant asked for a revenue slide separating stable funding from money the district must fight for each year. A third said Proposition 2½ never moved with rising costs and that towns need revenue sources not built on a volatile override debate.
The second session, on Oct. 19, will cover budget constraints, mandates and non-negotiables. Administrators were scheduled to meet with town leadership on FY28 budget and capital planning the following afternoon.
