Don't belong to the next one.

I know.

No.

Hi, gentlemen.

Okay, it's 6 p.m.

I'd like to call the meeting to order.

Um in the joint meeting with the select board.

Good evening, everyone.

Um I'm just going to go around, have everybody go around and say a quick introduction.

Um let me call our meeting to order first.

That would be fine.

Uh so I'm gonna call the select board meeting um March 10th, 2026 too.

All right, okay.

Do you want to go down that way?

Just say your name, please.

Sure.

Erica Funning, Finance Director.

Marlene McCollum, Town Administrator.

And Marie Srunian, Select Board.

Peter Mart, Select Board and Born High Love.

Gene is there, but Select Board.

Melissa Freedom.

Select board chair.

Okay, Mr.

Angelo Select Board.

So we knew school committee should go.

Rachel Aguirre still school committee.

Maria Heaney School Committee.

Donnell Beale, school committee chair, and a 1986 born alumni.

Hi Carrie Schofield, I'm school committee.

Kathleen Quindal School Committee.

Christine Fourning, Assistant Superintendent, Forn Public Schools.

Jordan Ghost, Born Public Schools, Director of Business Services.

Chris Oliver, Director of Technology, Board Public Schools.

Kristen Donnayu, Born Public Schools, Director of Special Education and Student Services.

Okay.

All righty.

So we're here tonight.

Um is a joint meeting between the school committee for public schools and the town board of select.

Um Marlene and Erica.

Thank you guys for being here.

Um so the purpose of the meeting is to discuss um FY 2027 budget deficit in advance of the finance committee's public hearing and annual town meetings.

So do you would you like to start first or would you want um I mean I think we all know why we're here?

Um actually if I can do you mind if I just that would be fine, please.

I was gonna look to you, sure.

Very briefly.

So um as many of you know, we met in December for the budget preview um at the police station, and we talked about the assumptions behind building the budget, and one of those key assumptions is that we level fund the cherry sheets.

So um we went to get we built the budget for FY27.

I presented it to the select board on January 6th, at which time it was but it was balanced.

The end of January, we received um our cherry sheets, and um they're concerning this year, and the end result of those cherry sheets are um right now we're standing at a budget deficit of 478,532 dollars.

So um ultimately the select board per the town's charter has to present a balanced budget to town meeting.

So the select board will have to decide how to orchestrate cuts to this budget, and how those cuts will need to be distributed among all of you know all of the budget, the entire budget.

So in order to do that, I think in order for I think in order for the select board to be able to do that wisely and thoughtfully, there they need to have a conversation with the school committee.

Um because the 300 budget, the born public school budget, and then the municipal services budget, the municipal departments budget, are really kind of the places where there's ability to cut.

We don't have ability to cut things like um a retire retirement assessments and and some of our other big budget lines.

So the select board is gonna have a difficult task in front of them in order to close that budget gap.

The finance committee it is aware of the deficit.

I met with them last night.

To give these two groups some time, you know, these two groups some time to discuss and strategies in order to close that gap so that a balanced budget can hopefully be discussed with the finance committee on March 30th.

And then all of the town meeting materials can be prepared in advance of the May 4th town meeting.