There has been some confusion about whether the School District has the authority or ability to change line items of the budget once an amount is voted on at Town Meeting. In this article, I hope to provide some clarity on the reasons for flexibility in the school budget by providing examples and explanations.
The school budget is designed to adapt to the dynamic nature of our educational system to meet the changing needs of our students. Our responsibility, governed by Massachusetts General Law, is to navigate complex financial decisions while adhering to the bottom-line amount approved at Town Meeting. Each year, the School Department, under the leadership of the School Committee and superintendent, successfully manages the budget to meet student and staff needs.
An example of this decision-making process was the hiring of a fifth kindergarten teacher for the 2024-25 school year. When developing the budget in August 2023, we anticipated the need for four kindergarten teachers. However, as kindergarten registrations exceeded expectations in the spring of 2024, I consulted with the School Committee about the necessity of an additional teacher and aide. The decision was made to hire both positions (two full-time employees, FTEs) while ensuring the budget remained balanced.
Similar adjustments occur when a student requires additional support from a learning assistant or when staffing changes arise due to resignations or restructuring. One decision that has drawn criticism, as quoted in the Press on March 14, is the promotion of the dean of students/math faculty member to assistant principal at The Bromfield School. This change, which did not increase the number of FTEs, resulted in four administrators at Bromfield in 2024-25, compared to two in 2021-22. One of these roles is a preexisting special education coordinator/administrator whose title and contract type were adjusted rather than added.
The net administrative cost increase was approximately $20,000, with an increase of work days for each FTE from 195 to 205/260 days. The increased days of work enabled us to save money on summer programming. We balanced any remaining difference by adjusting costs in other budget lines.
The restructuring of The Bromfield School into two distinct schools within a school—grades 6-8 as a middle school with its own principal and grades 9-12 with a separate principal—ensured a more age-appropriate focus to address the increasing complexity of education with additional leadership support. The new assistant principal position serves grades 9 through 12 this year and will expand to grades 6 through 12 next year, assisting with key responsibilities such as student support, event organization, parent communication, academic and attendance data analysis, bullying and bias investigations, teacher evaluations, state reporting, curriculum development, and more.
District-wide, our building administrator-to-student ratio is 7:1,028 with consistent enrollment over the past 5 years. This improved ratio is critical to achieving our vision: “We commit to providing a high-quality education centered around dynamic learning and personal well-being in a community where everyone can find belonging.” By maintaining a responsive and adaptable budget, we continue to uphold this commitment to our students, staff, and families.
Linda Dwight is superintendent of the Harvard Public Schools.
