Fiscal Year 2025

As we enter the FY 2025 budget season, we would like to share an overview of the projected budget for FY 2025.

FY25 Budget Overview

Prior to the spring town meeting and in conjunction with planning for the operational override last year, the School Committee, Advisory Committee, and Select Board agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding to maintain cost increases at a specific rate. 

  • The total school budget for FY24 is $65.7 million.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Town of Hingham provides a possible 3.5% increase in funding for the school district each year for the next four years. In addition, the MOU provides for an opportunity to request additional funding for special education costs. 
  • Based on that increase and anticipated state funding, we estimate $68 million from the Town will be allocated to the schools for the FY25 budget. 

Budget Drivers

There are additional drivers that impact the FY25 budget development, including the following:

  • The School Committee is negotiating three contracts currently. The current proposed FY25 budget includes funding based upon the last proposals made to these units. Further increases to the proposals to bargaining units will require either reductions or identification of other sources of funding.
  • Our fuel and utilities costs have increased. Natural gas has doubled. HMLP increased rates 6% in June 2024. 
  • The district has experienced increased needs among our students post-pandemic. These needs have resulted in increased need for speech and language related service providers and behavioral health supports. 
  • The district continues to see that out-of-district tuition costs are also rising. Operational Service Division provides every year an estimated rate of inflation for planning Approved Private Special Education program. The increase for FY25 was set at 4.69% and some schools predict even higher tuitions for next year. 

Budget Proposal for FY25

  • Per the MOU, the district has proposed that the School Committee request 1.4 million in addition to cover increased special education costs. 
  • After applying grants and revolving funds, the remaining deficit currently is approximately $800,000. The district has proposed to the School Committee to eliminate a total of 8 positions. These positions include a math, ELA, World Language, and .6 of a music teacher at the high school. At the middle school, these positions include a library paraprofessional, World Language Teacher, and two Math Tutors. Decreased enrollment at the middle and high school will limit the impact on students of these reductions. 

As always, we welcome community input on this important process and invite you to share your perspectives on how best to allocate the available resources. Please visit the School Committee meetings page on our website for more information: hinghamschools.org/school-committee.

Budget Archives

Fiscal Year 2024

Operational Override

We are pleased to inform our community that the override has passed at the town election. Thanks to thousands of Hingham residents who supported the override, the school and town will be able to implement the level service budget and continue to fund crucial staffing positions and programs. We sincerely appreciate everyone who took the time to attend the town meeting as well as vote in today’s election.

For the preliminary results, please visit:

https://www.hingham-ma.gov/413/Ballots-Warrants-Results

The Town of Hingham is entering the FY24 budget season with a deficit that resulted from COVID-19 and related operational needs.

The Town of Hingham is entering the FY24 budget season with a deficit that resulted from COVID-19 and related operational needs. To address this deficit, the town will present an override proposal to Town Meeting and at the ballot. As part of the override process, the town, including the schools, must present two budgets: 

  • The level services budget, which has been strongly advocated by Central Office, district leadership, and the Hingham School Committee, to allow us to maintain current programming. This budget assumes that the Town Meeting provides an operational override. 
  • The reduced service budget/balanced budget outlines a series of reductions that would be needed if an operational override fails.

The town’s expected FY24 deficit will be $6.2 million (previously 7.5M). The school’s portion of this deficit is 65%. Proposed reductions total approximately 4.8 million dollars which include funding needed to cover unemployment costs.

Without an operational override, the district would require significant personnel and program reductions in addition to the initial round of cuts presented to the School Committee at budget hearings over the past few weeks.

Find budget documents HERE.

For more information on the town’s proposed override, please visit the Town of Hingham website.

Level Service Budget Videos

Mary Eastwood, South Elementary Principal
Derek Smith, Hingham Middle School Principal
Matt Scheufele, Foster Elementary Principal
Greg Lamothe, Plymouth River Elementary Principal

Informational Videos

Override Explanation
Feb. 1 Budget Meeting 5 – Discussion of Reductions
Feb. 13 Public Hearing with School Committee
Feb. 16 Joint Session with Select Board, School Committee, and AdCom
Feb. 27 School Committee Meeting – Budget approved by SC

Budget Meetings

DateTimeLocationMeeting Type
Monday, Feb. 277:00 pmTown HallBudget Update at School Committee Meeting
Tuesday, Feb. 287:00 pmTown HallCapital Outlay Approval
Thursday, Mar. 27:00 pmTown HallSchool Budget Discussion at Advisory Committee Meeting
Tuesday, Mar. 77:00 pmTown HallPossible Vote on Budget at Select Board Meeting
Thursday, Mar. 97:00 pmTown HallSchool Budget Discussion at Advisory Committee Meeting
Monday, Mar. 137:00 pmTown HallBudget Update at School Committee Meeting
Thursday, Mar. 167:00 pmTown HallPossible Vote on Budget at Advisory Committee
Meeting
Monday, Apr. 247:00 pmHingham High SchoolTOWN MEETING
Saturday, Apr. 298:00 am – 8:00 pmBALLOT VOTE

FISCAL YEAR 2019

Fiscal Year 2018

Fiscal Year 2015

Final Budget

Proposals:

School Committee Budget – 3/10/14 – PDF File

Below are the FY 15 Budget Guidelines and Assumptions that were adopted by the School Committee on November 4, 2013.

Guidelines 

Assumptions 

Fiscal Year 2014

The slides below can be used in conjunction with the message.  The presentation below is a more visual view of the budget proposal.  The two documents are the same.  One is a PowerPoint 2010 document and the other two are PDF files of the presentation.