CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The school budget for fiscal 2026 has been reduced by another $39,000, bringing the percentage increase down to 3.98 percent. At the same time, the tuition proposed for prekindergarten was lifted.

 

The budget approved by the Finance Committee and Select Board at Wednesday's joint meeting with the School Committee has a bottom line of $3,085,643, a $118,233 increase over this year.

 

The School Committee opened up five school-choice slots in first grade, which will offset the loss of an estimated $30,000 in preschool tuition. The school is anticipating $187,000 in school choice and budgeted more conservatively at $180,000.

 

"At the last meeting, I think with the work that we've done collaboratively with the town and the school, we've really looked at past accounts, and we've looked at places where we can probably appropriate money in the correct spots to kind of give us a little bit more leeway, let's say, with school choice, than we thought we had," said Assistant Superintendent Tara Barnes.

 

Barnes said the decision not to impose tuition on Clarksburg parents for either 3- or 4-year-olds was made based on input at that last meeting from parents and other community members, including a Select Board member. (Barnes had initially said at the direction of the Select Board but when pressed, clarified a board member had been there.)

 

The majority of the Select Board had also nixed the idea of tuition for 4-year-olds last year as well.

 

School officials had pointed out that the development of the preschool had been strongly supported by the town when it voted to fund the program several years ago. PreK-4 has been free for Clarksburg residents from the start, while preK-3 had charged tuition.