FY25 Budget Updates and Community Survey

Dear Norton Families,

Education is something we all have in common. Each of us can remember our own educational experiences from our childhood - the excitement of beginning a new school year, the joy you felt when you found success, and the challenges of learning something new.

While education is something that we all know, the system of education is not the same as when we were students. In fact, education has changed significantly just in the last few years. In the years following the COVID pandemic, students of all ages are arriving at school with more significant academic and social-emotional needs. Lost time on academics, scarcity of mental health providers, and lack of access to early intervention has compounded, with our schools being asked to do more for our students than ever before. Gone are the days of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Our schools today also teach about civic engagement, help students to identify their emotions, show them how to be critical thinkers and consumers of the media, and to develop the grit and perseverance they will need to enter the world after Norton Public Schools.

Our FY25 budget recommendation represents a level-service budget for the FY25 school year. A level service budget allows us to retain the same levels of teaching and learning for all students in the upcoming school year. A level service budget is an increase from the previous year in order to maintain all programs. Level services for us is a 12.01% increase over our FY24 final budget. A 12.01% increase is not something that we typically see in Norton, but please know that I am advocating for our students, our staff, and our schools. We want our staff and families to be included in the difficult conversations that will likely take place over the next few months. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing this survey. The survey will remain open through January 31st.  Additionally, I am sharing the budget document which was shared last night at the School Committee and Joint Meetings, and recordings of both meetings are linked below. Please reach out with any questions or concerns that you may have.