Marlborough Public Schools Seeks 3.6% Budget Rise For 2024 Fiscal Year

MARLBOROUGH, MA — Marlborough Public Schools has released its proposed budget request for the 2024 fiscal year, which will start in July and cover the 2023-24 school year.

For fiscal 2024, the district is asking for $71.9 million, which is about 3.6 percent — or $2.5 million — above what the school committee approved for the current school year.

The school district typically forms and releases its budget ahead of the city's larger budgeting process in late spring. Marlborough Public Schools is the largest part of the city's annual budget — last year, it accounted for almost exactly half of Marlborough's $181 million fiscal 2023 budget.

According to the budget book, close to $2 million of the fiscal 2024 increase will be for pay and benefits increases under union contracts, plus service contract increases. Close to $600,000 more will go to the district's ongoing "Strategy for Improvement" plan, which former superintendent Michael Bergeron started during the 2018-19 school year to broadly increase the quality of education in Marlborough.

The 2024 spending for that plan will include hiring several new teachers and paraprofessionals for English language and technology classes, and hiring a social and emotional learning (SEL) supervisor.

"The district has made critical investments in the social-emotional wellbeing of Marlborough students. In addition to our school adjustment counselors and wrap-around coordinators, the district has invested heavily in anti-bias, anti-racism and restorative practices professional development district-wide," the budget books says of the SEL role. "As our students and staff adjust to a post-pandemic environment, it will be important for the district to continue investing in the social-emotional well-being of our students."

Marlborough Public Schools will hold a budget workshop on March 1. During March, the school committee will debate the budget and make a recommendation on a final budget figure ahead of a vote planned for March 28. From there, the school district budget will go to Mayor Arthur Vigeant and the Marlborough City Council for inclusion in the city's final fiscal 2024 budget.