At the Board of Education meeting on Monday evening, the Weston Public School District administration presented a request to increase its operating budget by $2.8 million next fiscal year.

If eventually approved by the school board, the Board of Finance, and voters, the increase would be the largest in ten years. It would bring the operating budget to $62,156,367 for fiscal year 2025-26, 4.75 percent higher than this year’s allocation of just over $59.3 million.

According to the presentation by the district’s leadership team, close to two thirds of the increase is due to one factor: a sharp rise in health insurance coverage. District headcount is virtually unchanged, and the total salaries line only grows by about $300,000.

But employee benefits, which last year represented 18 percent of the overall budget, account for 21 percent in the request. 87 percent of the benefits increase is driven by health insurance costs.

Capital items

The administration also presented, very briefly, a list of 15 capital projects for next year. The total comes to just over $1 million, but the estimated cost of several items, including district-wide new or upgraded lighting, heating, and cooling equipment, is “TBD.”

The review process

Scrutiny of the administration’s request begins on January 7 with the first of three Board of Education budget workshops.

Public forums are scheduled for January 15 and January 23. The board decided to hold each at 7:00 pm, at least one of them in person.

A vote on the final budget request will be taken on either January 28 or 30. It is then transmitted to the Board of Selectmen, who review the request and send it on to the Board of Finance, with or without recommendations. Beyond review and recommendations, the selectmen have no say on the Board of Education operating budget.