Burlington's Ways & Means Committee Votes to Recommend Full Slate of School Budget Items

Burlington's finance committee met on May 6 for the final time ahead of the town's annual Town Meeting, and by the end of the nearly three-hour meeting they had voted to recommend each of the financial requests from the school department, including a $70 million operating budget and around $2.5 million in one-time capital expenditures.

Also considered – and hotly debated – was funding for the town's Fourth of July celebration and additional monies for a shed at the historic West School.

School Operating Budget – $70,474,253

The schools' operating budget came in at 4.25% increase over last year, which was the bottom end of the 4.25-4.5% guideline given to the department by the committee.

Ways & Means Vote: 11-0-1

Special Education Accommodated Account – $16,835,321

This budget, said Superintendent Eric Conti, is built student-by-student for known special education placements. It includes out-of-district tuitions and in-district programs. It is slightly due to reduced residential placements and shutting down one classroom at the Burlington Early Childhood Center (the town's integrated, subsidized preschool) due to lower enrollment.

Conti said this accommodated account is helpful in allowing the district's operating budget to remain stable despite fluctuations in special education needs across the district.

Ways & Means Vote: 13-1-0

School Capital Items

School Curriculum Adoption – $224,895

This is for adoption of "high quality instructional materials" for the middle school, continuing elementary adoption from previous year. It includes professional development and initial materials; consumables like workbooks will be folded into the operating budget.

Note that the $280,000 number in the warrant is a placeholder, since the warrant was printed before the curriculum was chosen.

Ways & Means Vote: 13-1-0

Marshall Simonds Plumbing (Cooling Tower) – $605,000

Replace cooling tower installed in 2004 at Marshall Simonds Middle School. Internal and exterior frame damage makes rebuilding unfeasible. The replacement will hopefully last 20 years but is not guaranteed.

Ways & Means Vote: 13-0-0

BHS Boiler Room Repairs – $685,960

Replace three critical boiler room systems: domestic hot water system (two tanks), expansion tanks for heat system, and air compressors running thermostats. The systems have redundancy, but backup components are decommissioned. 10-12 week lead time makes failure catastrophic.

Ways & Means Vote: 13-0-0

System Wide Security Camera Replacement – $64,824

Replace 39 camera units at Marshall Simonds and Memorial schools from 2011-2012 installations. Old technology is difficult to maintain within the operating budget. The new cameras will be compatible with the existing storage system.

Ways & Means Vote: 13-0-0

Pine Glen Building Envelope – $347,325

This is part two of a secure vestibule project, following the Francis Wyman vestibule from last year. Pine Glen was designed when vestibule was part of student hallway system, allowing direct building access. Construction is planned for next summer, pending Town Meeting approval. (Francis Wyman's vestibule construction is planned for this summer.)

Ways & Means Vote: 13-0-0

System Wide Vehicle Replacement – $82,933

This will replace a 2012 box truck with 55,000 miles used for daily deliveries between six schools. The current vehicle has frame rot and barely passed inspection, it's unlikely to pass next year. The queue for these vehicles is long and it can take up to a year a more to get the vehicle.

Ways & Means Vote: 13-0-0

Staff and Computer Science PC Replacement – $329,215.10

This article replaces 90 Windows computers for staff (clerical, cafeteria, custodial) and 125 cart computers for high school labs and libraries. Includes monitors, printers, and peripherals. Volume exceeds operating budget capacity.

Ways & Means Vote: 13-0-0

Marshall Simonds Field Upgrades (Bathroom Design) – $64,350

Feasibility study for a bathroom facility at middle school field, following community requests for permanent bathrooms beyond portable toilets. This study will examine a freestanding building, locker room renovation, and other options with usage policies.

Superintendent Conti said the district is following through on a commitment to look into how best to address parent concerns. Committee members were divided on this one, including Ed Parsons who questioned how the request aligned with the district's educational mission and Deb McCarthy who said the facility should have something better than portable toilets. School Committee member Christine Monaco said the town should at least do the study, even if they end up choosing not to do the construction project.

Ways & Means Vote: 8-5-0

Facilities Master Plan – $96,800

This would update the building condition study last completed in 2017, examining mechanical, electrical, plumbing systems, code compliance, and equipment condition across all buildings. This work informs the district's (and the town's) 20-year capital planning.

Ways & Means Vote: 13-0-0

System Wide Wireless Microphones – $59,818

Complete replacement of wireless microphone system including handheld mics, lapel mics, and batteries for high school. The mics operate at a different frequency and components from current system.

Ways & Means Vote: 13-0-0

School Community Custodial Services – $74,783

Annual funding for custodial services for when schools open buildings for community groups outside school hours. The rates are unchanged from previous year. Does not cover all requested hours.

Rick Rosso voted against this article, arguing taxpayers shouldn't subsidize nonprofit organizations' custodial costs when the school has no control over these organizations' finances or operations, characterizing it as an involuntary charitable contribution.

Ways & Means Vote: 12-1-0

While the school department was the center of much discussion, the committee had two other significant debates, resulting in split votes:

Historical School Storage Shed – $100,000

This was originally proposed in 2016 as a simple 20x40 foot shed with Shawsheen Tech providing construction and town paying materials. The project became complicated when the building inspector determined the museum site was non-conforming, requiring special permits from the planning board. The planning board added requirements including cedar shingles, an HVAC system, and security system. The foundation bid alone wiped out the entire original budget due to inflation and increased requirements.

The project has ballooned from a $30,000 estimate to $130,000 total, with committee members raising concerns about a lack of backup documentation for the $40,000 construction allocation and no competitive bids on file. Some members questioned the logic of requiring climate control and a security system for what was originally intended as basic storage. The vote passed 9-3, with the dissenting members citing cost escalation and insufficient justification for the final price tag.

Ways & Means Vote: 9-3-0

Fourth of July Celebration – $80,000 $34,000

This is the annual funding for the Fourth of July parade. The committee faces declining volunteerism and difficulty with corporate sponsorship fundraising. The amount was reduced from $80,000 to $34,000 after discussion with the subcommittee to provide level funding with some additions while eliminating fireworks.

The funding level and structure generated notable debate. Members raised concern that declining volunteerism creates a self-reinforcing cycle of poor fundraising and higher town funding requests and questioned whether that pattern reflects waning community support. Additional concerns centered on the warrant's funding mechanism — specifically whether money appropriated now is used for the following year's parade, and whether a revolving account structure would better serve the article's intent. One member noted that roughly two-thirds of the funding comes from commercial taxes, and that local businesses are pulling back from sponsorships, describing the current arrangement as feeling one-sided.

Ways & Means Vote: 10-2-0

Possibly garnering the least debate of the night was the Administrative Professional Compensation Plan, which will be a transfer from the town's Negotiated Settlements account and not a new appropriation.

Administrative Professional Compensation Plan – $223,988

Annual article providing a 3.5% general wage adjustment for non-union employees including department heads, directors, assistant directors, and technical staff. Funds transferred from negotiated settlements. The rate is consistent with all other town union contracts for FY27.

Ways & Means Vote: 12-0-0

Town Meeting convenes beginning Monday, May 11, 2026, and will continue on Wednesday and Monday evenings until all items on the warrant have been voted on.

To follow the budget votes from the beginning, visit the Budget section of the Burlington Buzz website.