001Hello everyone. I'm Kate Lucas, the principal of Strata Memorial School. Thank you for joining us today. Today you're going to be watching our video, our budget video about our proposed budget for FY27. In our video, we hope to explain our budgeting process, our warrant articles, and a little bit about how amazing SMS is. And I cannot think of a better way to do that than inviting these three amazing, intelligent, charismatic individuals to join me. >> Thank you, Miss Lucas. We are Emma, Binn, and Millie. We are the producers, >> hosts, creators of this podcast, SMST. Miss Lucas invited us to join her with this video, and here we are doing what we do every week and showing you a glance at how awesome SMS is. You'll hear from us, our classmates, a couple of our
002teachers, and one of our fabulous parents. We hope you enjoy our budget video. Miss Dalszer, you're a math specialist. What makes you most proud of the work being done at SMS? >> I am so proud of the collaborative culture here at SMS and the high expectations that we have around student [music] learning. We were able to show off all our hard work. When we took the math statewide [music] assessment or the SAS last spring, we were 55% proficient in 2024 and we went to 75% proficient in 2025. >> That is great. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'm here [music] with Big Buddy Ben Lasher and little buddy Fred Schmidt. So guys, what is your favorite part about [music] Big Buddy and Little Buddy? >> I like spending time with Ben and all the fun crafts.
003That's so fun. >> Fred is nice and I like doing [music] activities with him. So ya, [music] we know fourth grade just launched educational passages boat building project. What are you most excited about? Well, I am most excited about um about like fourth grade like building the boat, but I'm most excited about um art because you know I'm creative. >> Yes. >> And I'm so excited about like bu [music] like making a flag and about just like decorating the boat in general. Miss My Durks, you've had two children attend SMS. Tell us why you love SMS. [music] >> Thank you. Um, so we moved here just in time a week before my son started kindergarten. [music] And we specifically chose this area because of the good things we heard about the school. In my [music]
004experience, those things are true. >> At the school, they really see the individual. They focus on building friendships and building a good citizens, but also learning. My son is now at the middle school and everything that he's learned at SMS has transferred there. Um, [music] been very pleased with how his education is going, where it continues to go from there. My daughter is still in third grade. We have [music] a few more years where we get to be here and enjoy the atmosphere it's created. >> At SMS, we are deeply committed to providing an elementary school experience that sees and celebrates the whole child, their talents, complexities, passions, challenges, and gifts. We've created a culture of curiosity where students and staff explore profound questions seeking to better understand the world around them. Each day, students
005engage in complex learning that requires critical thinking, collaboration, and creative solutions. The staff and families work in partnership to ensure each child has a voice in their learning, is confident, demonstrates care and empathy for their community, and shows strong academic growth. We aspire to inspire one another. Every August, the SS administration in collaboration with senior leadership and the school board begins the process of developing and a fiscally responsible budget that reflects our priorities, ensures an excellent education, and aligns with our values. As you can see, most of the driving factors in our proposed budget can be broken down into four categories with a few outliers. The first salaries with an increase of $112,248, which accounts for the steps and tracks outlined in our collective bargaining agreements as well as the raises for our non-UN yearround
006employees. The second driving factor, health insurance premiums, is an unexpectedly large increase that unfortunately we have no influence over. Next year we are facing an increase of $374,947. The third driving factor is our special education costs. This is an obstacle not unique to SMS, but an issue being faced by schools nationwide. You will see an increase in special education tuition of $210,000, special education transportation of $95,000, and special education extended school year ESY of $10,000 for a total increase of $315,000. The final driver is transportation other which is comprised of our daily bus routes with first student at $31,572 and our field trip transportation at $7,499 for a total increase of $39,71. Of note and importance is the debt service bond. This line represents the building renovation project which was approved by the voters in
007March of 2025. This will remain a yearly operating budget item for the duration of the bond. It is included here because the bond payments became part of the operating budget once the bond was approved by the voters last March. You will note in a future slide that the bond is delineated from the overall operating budget as it has already been approved by the town. The entire FY27 proposed budget is available on our website. Additionally, the Stratum School Board meetings are recorded and posted to learn more and hear the specifics of how this budget was developed. They are a great resource. The last four meetings in particular were in partnership with the Stratam Financial Advisory Committee who have been thoughtful and insightful partners throughout this process. In New Hampshire, public schools are funded through a combination
008of state aid and local property taxes. However, the state aid or state adequacy funding is significantly below the actual cost of educating students. The Supreme Court recently confirmed it's too low. Around $7,356 per student would be a more realistic minimum, but the legislature has not acted. Right now, the base grant is in the low 4,000s, which with extra funds for special education and other needs. Because state funding falls short, local property taxes cover most of the difference, including about 83% of special education costs, which are legally required and tailored to each student. This slide shows the change from the current school year to the proposed FY27 budget for the 2627 school year. The principal described the changes in the operating budget which consists of the general fund and food service fund. Title idea and other
009grants were previously appropriated as part of the SAU budget. However, as the school district is the legal owner of the grants, the appropriation is being moved to reflect that. >> We want to thank you for watching our video and learning more about what makes SMS truly a special place. We hope the glimpse of our community has painted a powerful picture of learning, deep connections, and joy. We sincerely appreciate your continued support through this budget process. Mark your calendars. The Stratam School District annual meeting is Wednesday, March 4th at 6 p.m. here at SMS. >> We look forward to seeing you there.