VOTE ON MARCH 4th
Voting on the South Burlington School District FY26 Budget will take place on Town Meeting Day is Tuesday, March 4th. Below is everything you need to know about the FY26 budget!
What is the FY26 budget?
The FY26 budget is $71,507,854 with a resulting tax rate increase of 7.9%.
Public Meetings before Town Meeting Day
Steering Committee meeting on Wednesday, January 22 at 4 pm
School Board meeting on Wednesday, January 22 at 6 pm
School Board meeting on Wednesday, February 5 at 6 pm (Details for these meetings available here)
- Pre Town Meeting at City Hall on Monday, March 3rd. Details are available at southburlingtonvt.gov
Where can I vote?
Early voting begins on Thursday, February 13th. Ballots can be mailed in or dropped off directly at City Hall.
Polls will be open from 7 am -7 pm on Tuesday, March 4th.
Voting locations are Gertrude Chamberlin School, Orchard Elementary, Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School, and City Hall.
Find out what district you vote in here.
Tell me about the District and the Schools!
If you do not have a student in the district, please get to know us! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see students and staff in their classrooms, on field trips, on the playground, and volunteering in the community; highlighting their successes– both academic and extra curricular. Our schools are more than numbers on a spreadsheet and they are not a single entity. Each has their own personality and their own unique needs and strengths. We support each other and all our students.
If you want to see more about each school, check out these Instagram accounts too!
Ben Majors (The SBHS Campus Safety Officer takes amazing photos of our sports teams and other events)
There are also accounts for nearly every sports team and co-curricular activity including the robotics club Batteries Not Included and Unified Sports.
Learn more about the Curriculum and the courses of study at the high school
32% of students in AP Courses
91% Graduation Rate
77% Enrollment in Higher Education
Look through the Student Achievement Data from 2023-2024
Read the SBHS Profile
Learn about the FHTMS Student Developed Social Contract
Read Chamberlin’s School-Family Compact
See video of RMCS’s Student Committees to improve their school
Follow Orchard’s incredible library
WHERE ARE FY25 INCREMENTAL EXPENSES VS FY24?
These are the expenses that make up the $71 million budget. As you can see, Salaries and Benefits make up the majority of the budget.
It is important to the district to cover our employee's health care costs but we are at the subject of the rising costs which increased 11.9% since last year
25% of the expense budget is allocated to Special Education sub categories
Breakdown of FY26 Spending Increase
What are SBSD’s goals with this budget?
To achieve our ENDs policy
include $250,000 to Capital Reserve Fund
increase special education and behavioral supports
preserve arts programming
preserve structured literacy, literacy and math specialists at the elementary level
expand K-8 teacher voice
Support multilingual students
How does this budget support students?
Increases the number of bus drivers to get students to and from school and activities
Features Multilingual supports
Awesome Visual and performing arts
Adds additional special education supports
Provides nursing services for students
Curriculum Area Supervisor leadership model at SBHS
Preserves Multilingual supports
Adds para educators in Kindergarten for preventive support
Features elementary literacy and math specialists and structured literacy programming
Restructures departments to find efficiencies and cost-savings: business office, Pre-K (no reduction in students served), special education, transportation
What's happening with Pre-K?
Currently, Pre-K includes a classroom teacher, a special educator, a speech-language pathologist (SLP), and a paraeducator. We pride ourselves in providing robust support as compared to many public programs in our county and state.
Pre-K has unique requirements, and as the starting point for our youngest learners, it’s crucial that their first experience in public school remains positive and robust.
While adjustments are being proposed, we are confident we can continue to serve our students in compliance with standards and maintain an inclusive Pre-K model. Currently, we are not at licensing capacity in any of the classrooms. We do not anticipate any reduction in the number of students served.
What's happening with Special Ed?
Adding an Assistant Special Education Director to support increased special education needs
Adding 1 BCBA and 1 behavior facilitator to support all students’ needs
Adding 3 interventionists to meet IEP requirements
Adding 1 SouthPoint teacher to meet IEP requirements, which is cost-neutral due to offsetting revenues
What does FTE mean?
FTE or Full-time equivalent, is a unit of measurement to determine the number of full-time hours worked by all employees in the business. According to their contract, teachers at SBSD work 37.5 hours per week and are considered full-time or a 1.0 FTE. If a position is assigned to 0.8, this position would work 30 hours per week. Administration and central office staff are considered full-time at 40 hours per week.
What will happen if this budget doesn't pass?
The district will bring a new budget to the board. In all likelihood, we would need to make further reductions to bring the tax rate increase down. It could result in further loss of staff and programming that we worked to maintain.
How does South Burlington’s tax rate compare to other districts?
Can I apply for a tax credit based on my salary?
Yes! Of the 5,197 taxable homes in SB: 2,741 (52.7%) receive a property tax credit and pay less than the full rates listed above. Average tax credit in is $1,970 per eligible homestead. (Source: SB City Tax Department) To apply for a tax reduction, contact the Vermont Department of Taxes at www.tax.vermont.gov/property/tax-credit or call 802-828-2505
How can I better understand Vermont’s school funding system?
Vermont has a statewide school funding system which is impacted by all school spending across the state.
Here are additional resources from the state:
More information about the budget can be found at sbschools.net/budgetfy26.
Please vote on Tuesday, March 4th!