Cummings report: Grafton schools face dire financial future

Grafton residents, consider yourself on alert: the Select Board and the School Committee meet Wednesday, Dec. 18, and Superintendent of Schools James Cummings has just dropped 109 pages of homework for preparation.

It’s called the FY2021 preliminary budget recommendation, and it contains dire projections of a budget gap.  At the present rate of funding, the schools are poised to eliminate seven positions in Fiscal Year 2021. In 2022, that increases to 11 positions. By Fiscal Year 2023, 75 percent of athletics will be eliminated, along with the athletic director.

Cummings outlined the budget crisis back in November before the Finance Committee and on Thursday, posted the FY2021 preliminary budget recommendation on the school department’s website.

“The Grafton Public Schools provides one of the very best returns on investment in Massachusetts,” Cummings wrote in a newsletter sent to parents Thursday. “The school district has managed to perform at a high level while being in the bottom 3 percent in funding in Massachusetts for over a decade.

“If the town does not fund a level-service budget in FY21 and beyond, the district will not be able to provide the level of service that Grafton students and residents are accustomed to. The strength of our school district is directly tied to its funding. Our district’s ability to walk the tightrope between low funding and strong performance will not be tenable in the near future given the current funding projections.

“While the focus of this budget document is on the upcoming fiscal year, the larger funding picture must be considered. What Grafton wants from its school system is tied directly to what Grafton is willing to fund. If a proactive answer is not sought out and secured in the very near future, the Grafton Public Schools will fall into dysfunction and eventually, fail.”