WESTFORD — A public hearing for the FY26 budget for Westford Public Schools is scheduled to open on Monday.
Officials began discussions on the budget on Dec. 9, where Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Chew requested $69,388,572 for the district in FY26 – a 2.67% increase over FY25.
As only WestfordCAT reported last month, the district is requesting $98,531 for an expansion to its REACH program for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which would establish a program at Nabnasset Elementary School, including two new full-time equivalent positions valued at $70,000.
The district also requests $70,001 to expand its special education programming for medically fragile students and establish an elementary-level program at Day Elementary School.
A $98,531 request would also be used to extend additional special education programming for social-emotional learning at one of the town’s middle schools. The prospective middle school has not been announced at the time of reporting.
Additionally, officials are grappling with proposed cuts to interventionist positions, which were slated to receive cuts in FY25, but a $378,000 amendment at last year’s Town Meeting extended funding for program staff through the school year.
At the time of reporting, administrators propose retaining 15 of the 26 interventionists, with one reading and one math interventionist among each of the six elementary schools and three others to be used as support across the district.
How to participate
Residents may attend the meeting in person at 7 p.m. in the Millennium School conference room at 23 Depot St. or participate remotely via Zoom. The public hearing is scheduled to open at 7:45 p.m.
Comments should be limited to three minutes. If you are unable to attend, questions may be sent in advance to the committee via email.
Those who wish to tune in may watch the meeting on YouTube, Comcast channel 22, Verizon channel 33 or via Castus.
The meeting can also be accessed via WestfordCAT’s app, which can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play Store, or Roku.
Monday’s agenda can be found here.
The committee’s agenda is subject to change ahead of the meeting.
District FY26 budget proposal includes expanded special education programs, interventionist cuts
