LS School Committee declines school choice, advances $38.4 million budget

SUDBURY -- January 23, 2024, Lincoln-Sudbury committee declines school choice and unveils $38.4M FY25 budget. The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to reject school choice participation for 2024-2025 after Superintendent-Principal Andrew Stevens warned the state's $5,000-per-pupil reimbursement falls well short of district costs and that the law would give LS "no allowable criteria for acceptance or denial of non-resident students." The proposed FY25 operating budget of $38,357,107 represents a 3.4 percent increase, below Sudbury's 3.8 percent guidance and above Lincoln's 2.5 percent. Out-of-district special education placements net to $4,722,805 after a $3.05 million circuit-breaker offset. Sudbury would carry 87.31 percent of the above-minimum assessment, Lincoln 12.69 percent. The committee also unanimously approved $150,000 for an exterior stairwell warrant article and a lighting-control replacement article for the building's original 2004 analog panels.