Daniel Donovan, chief operating officer of the Nashua School District, recently presented the district's FY25 budget proposal of $131 million. Courtesy photo/Nashua ETV

NASHUA – The Board of Education Budget Committee recently had its first look at the district’s proposed operating budget of $131 million for fiscal year 2025.

This figure, which does not yet include the cost of benefits, represents a 4.49 percent increase over last year’s budget, which was $125.4 million before benefits were added.

In his Feb. 20 letter to department heads, Mayor James Donchess asked that all budget increases be kept below four percent. However, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mario Andrade said there is very little wiggle room in this year’s figure.

“This is a realistic number, it’s not something we should be negotiating,” he said during the April 3 meeting.

The district is also expecting $58 million to $60 million in state education funding.

Chief Operating Officer Daniel Donovan said district enrollment has climbed from 9,915 students in October 2022 to 9,772 students in October 2023. However, he did not consider this to be a dramatic increase.

“There has been no spike in the number of students,” he said.

The cost of educating each student has also increased from $16,361 in fiscal year 2022 and is now $17,775.

Yet, board member Heather Raymond said the average cost of educating a student in New Hampshire is $20,000.

“I don’t want people to get the idea that we’re having a money party over here,” she said.

In addition, 41 percent of students were eligible for free and reduced lunch last year. That figure is now 42 percent.

The percentage of special education students also went up slightly from 19 percent to 20 percent while the number of English Language Learners remained consistent with last year’s figure of 17 percent.

Regarding personnel, Donovan said that salary item has gone up by 1.95 percent and now sits at $99.9 million.

He said seven English Language Learner teachers and four family engagement coordinators are being moved to the operating budget for a total expense of $651,676. Those positions were initially covered by the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. However, those funds are now exhausted.

In terms of reductions, Donovan is projecting a decrease of $1.18 million, which includes seven elementary school positions and 12 middle school positions.

He also called attention to non-labor expenditures, which have spiked by 13.6 percent and are now $31 million. Within that figure, the contract services line item is $2.7 million, an increase of $1.3 million over last year.

“This is the cost that’s the biggest driver of the increase,” said Donovan.

Matthew Poska, assistant superintendent of Secondary Schools, said the district has done a better job with promoting the vertical alignment for grades K-12.

“This is a K-12 commitment, we’re committed to not working in silos,” he said. “We’re committed to tearing down these silos and working together to be transparent.”

Michele Quadros, literacy peer coach on the elementary school level, highlighted the importance of foundational literacy.

“We need to be able to help our students crack the code because that’s only one piece of the puzzle,” she said.

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