In one of its budget presentation slides, the school department stated its reason for going above a level service budget: “It is the collective will of parents, students, teachers, district leaders, and the School Committee to advance education in our district. It is an increase of 6.91% from the fiscal 2024 request, down from the 8.51% increase in the earlier version. This $16,230,250 omnibus budget request is nearly a quarter-million dollars lower than the one the committee had favored at its previous meeting. School Committee members voted unanimously Monday night to approve a fourth version of their proposed school budget for fiscal 2025.
