Area school boards finalizing fiscal 2026 budgets | Local News

BENNINGTON – Proposed fiscal 2026 school budgets for Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union communities are moving toward the final form they will take on annual town meeting day warnings.

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The SVSU board approved its budget in December as the first step in a process that also includes the Mount Anthony Union School District and the Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District budgets.

SVSU budget

On December 17, the SVSU board approved its budget for fiscal 2026, beginning July 1.

“The SU budget passed, which is a first step for the other boards who also need to pass their budgets,” said SVSU board Chair Scott McEnaney. “The SU budget feeds into their budgets, so it needs to be approved before the other boards can effectively move on their budgets.”

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He added, “The SU budget increases we are seeing are largely the result of salary and benefits, both of which the SU has little control over. We expected these increases because of the collective bargaining agreement in place and the numbers for insurance costs coming from the state.”

Those increases, he said, “do create pressures on other areas of the budget, but the board did not feel it necessary to make cuts at this time. These are the types of conversations that will have to happen, but they should be done in partnership with new superintendent leadership, once that is in place.”

The supervisory union is currently seeking a replacement for longtime SVSU Superintendent Jim Culkeen, who is resigning effective June 30.

The SVSU spending plan as approved for July 1 through June 30, 2026, totals $37,153,179, which reflects an increase of $2,854,712, or 8.3 percent over the current budget.

According to minutes of the board meeting, the total also reflects $600,000 in reductions from the first budget draft considered, “the result primarily of decreasing salaries and benefits for vacant positions.”

MAUSD budget

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The MAUSD board has developed a fiscal 2026 budget that totals $32,639,219 and is up by $2,269,227, or 7.47 percent over the current year, according to the budget draft presented to the MAU board December 18.

The MAU board meets next on January 15 at 6 p.m. at the SVSU Central Office at 184 North Street.

The SVUESD regional elementary school board has developed a total budget of $33,378,598, which is up $3,346,382, or 10.1 percent over the current year, according to a budget draft discussed by the board on Tuesday.

Board Chair Christopher Murphy said Wednesday, “Yes, at last night’s meeting, the board tentatively approved the proposed budget, and we will vote to warn it at next week’s meeting.”

The elementary board meets next on January 14 at 5:30 p.m. at the SVSU offices.

More information on the school budgets is posted on the SVSU website.