January 12, 2026
Dear BSD Community,
I hope you all had a wonderful break and are enjoying being back in your routines. During my visits last week, I saw teachers engaging students with care and enthusiasm. I also saw students happy to be back with their friends and enjoying winter fun. I met with my student advisory group at EMS, where we had a thoughtful conversation about engaging learning and what it looks like. And I had the chance to watch our girls’ and boys’ hockey teams playing hard and supporting one another. All of this reflects what BSD is about: teamwork, showing up for one another, and working hard for our students and community.
As you know, we are in a challenging budget cycle. We have spent the last few months carefully building a responsible plan for next year. At Wednesday night’s School Board meeting, I will propose a budget that includes a total budget increase of 4.47%. This budget would allow us to maintain our current level of services and would result in a 4.31% increase in property taxes. Thankfully, the tax increase is lower than what we originally expected.
This budget reflects feedback from the School Board, our leadership team, community members, and School Advisory Groups. It adjusts staffing to match our declining enrollment and looks for savings where possible.
The budget also allows us to continue working towards our Strategic Plan goals. We will continue to prioritize well-being and belonging, restorative practices, and hiring and supporting educators who look like our students.
Equally as important, the budget also prioritizes improving academic achievement and reducing gaps in learning and opportunities. Based on recent achievement data, which continues to show a troubling opportunity gap between students who qualify for free and reduced lunch and those who do not, the budget prioritizes the following instructional areas:
- Updating the academic coaching model so that academic coaches spend more time working directly with students who need extra support.
- Strengthening early literacy through universal screening and training in the science of reading
- Expanding support for elementary math.
- Increasing in-district special education programs for students with the most significant needs.
This year’s proposal includes some position reductions. It proposes reducing 6.5 positions as a result of declining enrollment. An additional 3.5 district office positions are also proposed for reduction. While we have faced reductions in each of the past four budget cycles, we have worked to avoid mass layoffs by spreading changes over time. As a result, attrition and restructuring have enabled us to retain almost all teachers impacted by reductions in the past few years. This remains our goal again this year.
The Board will review and discuss this recommendation on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in the Hunt Middle School Library. The meeting will also be available live on Facebook and via Zoom. A final vote is scheduled for January 20.
Above all, I’m confident that this budget will allow us to continue to ensure our schools are a place where all students can grow, belong, and thrive. Thank you for your engagement and support in this work! Together, we can make sure that every learner is challenged, empowered, and engaged.
In partnership,
Tom
*It’s important to know that this tax rate reflects the governor’s $75 million buy‑down, which we believe is the most likely scenario.
