Scituate Schools Maintain Staff Levels Despite Enrollment Challenges

Budget focuses on curriculum, technology amid projected student decline

SCITUATE - February 11 - The Scituate School District's proposed $52.5 million budget for fiscal year 2026 maintains current staffing levels despite projections of declining enrollment over the next decade.

Superintendent William Burkhead and Director of Business and Finance Thomas Raab presented the budget to the Select Board on Feb. 11, highlighting efforts to balance educational priorities with fiscal constraints.

"We're proud of this budget nonetheless because it did get delivered," Burkhead said. "How many more years like this? As the conversation goes, things like that come up. Not many, obviously. But we'll take it one year at a time."

The budget represents a 4.44% increase over the current year. It focuses on curriculum development, technology upgrades, and facility maintenance while belt-tightening in other areas.

Raab emphasized that staffing levels will remain stable despite enrollment projections showing a decline from 3,243 students in 2005 to under 3,000 by 2035.

"Every time we talk to Mr. Burkhead, the first question is who can we move around, who can we re-align," Raab said. "That's always the first question."

The district plans to invest in social studies curriculum materials and professional development. It will also continue implementing a new math curriculum introduced this year.

Some Select Board members expressed concern about the long-term sustainability of maintaining staffing levels with fewer students.

"We're still 276 students fewer than we had at the turn of the century," said Select Board chair Andrew Goodrich. "Like that's what's keeping me up. So we have 276 fewer students after 30 years and not only our costs, not only our full-time employees, but like, it just, it frightens me."

Burkhead and Raab countered that educational needs and expectations have changed significantly over the past 30 years, requiring more specialized staff and services.

"The needs of students are so drastically different," Raab said. "The expectations of parents, the expectations of class size, the expectations of what a teacher is doing in the classroom for those students is just so different right now."

The budget maintains the district's commitment to curriculum development, allocating $467,000 for various initiatives. It also includes $250,000 for building maintenance and upgrades to technology infrastructure.

In a separate agenda item, the Select Board voted unanimously to place a debt exclusion question on the May 31, 2025, town election ballot to fund Scituate's share of a new South Shore Regional Vocational Technical High School.

The project could cost Scituate between $22 million and $23.3 million over 30 years, depending on the final borrowing structure.

Select Board member Karen Canfield supported moving forward with the debt exclusion vote, citing strong community support for the project.

"I think we should do that right away," Canfield said. "And, you know, … the first dollar of this isn't going to hit for what, three years?"

The board also reviewed proposed changes to a bylaw addressing abandoned and vacant properties in town. The revised language would require registration of properties that are not legally occupied and show visible signs of distress.

Town officials are still refining the bylaw's enforcement provisions, including potential daily fines for violations. The bylaw review committee will consider the updated language at its Feb. 20 meeting.

Full meeting available via SCTV.