L-S panel previews $40.7M FY27 budget with $158,000 gap

SUDBURY -- December 2, 2025, Lincoln-Sudbury previews a $40.7M FY27 budget with a $158,000 gap and floats a special-ed stabilization fund. Director of Finance and Operations Susan Bottan and Superintendent/Principal Andrew Stephens walked the School Committee through assumptions including a 19.77 percent health insurance increase ($603,000), $795,000 in additional out-of-district special education costs, and $819,000 drawn from the Circuit Breaker reimbursement carryover. Assessment guidance is 2.5 percent from Lincoln and 3.75 percent from Sudbury. Member Jack Ryan warned colleagues the district is "coming very, very close to a no-override budget" and that one-time offsets balancing FY27 "won't be there" a year from now. Separately, the district earned a 63 percent "substantial progress" accountability rating but landed in "requiring assistance" because IEP-student participation fell below the 95 percent threshold; eight students did not test for documented medical reasons.