On January 13, the School Site Council (SSC) presented the Boston Latin School budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
The SSC serves as the School’s governing body. It consists of the Head of School alongside faculty representatives from the Boston Teachers Union, parents and students. This council oversees school-based committees, develops plans to increase parent engagement and reviews and approves the school budget. This winter, the council met to discuss test scores, course selection and the upcoming budget.
SSC Student Representative Kiki McMahon (I) comments, “Seeing the numbers makes you realize how much there is to figure out. Of course, we want to fund new resources, but if the budget is only so much, there is not much to be done.”
The discussion comes as Boston Public Schools attempts to navigate last year’s federal funding losses, focusing on maintaining essential faculty positions and various student support services under a new district funding formula. A decline in BPS enrollment combined with the end of the policy giving schools the same funding over a two-year transition period added additional variables.
Despite district-wide funding challenges, BLS saw an increase in its budget. Head of School Jason Gallagher notes, “[The budget] has increased significantly, as have costs.”
The BLS budget primarily covers two aspects: non-personnel costs and personnel costs. The salaries of personnel, which include faculty members, substitutes and stipends, total over 21 million dollars, up from around 20 million last year. As a BPS school, certain operational costs, including salaries for nurses, secretaries and social workers, are required by the district rather than through the discretionary budget. This year, the district-wide budget saw an increase of 4.5 percent, totaling 1.71 billion dollars.
To balance the upcoming budget, BLS needs to reach a balance of zero in the face of a 60 thousand dollar deficit of associated costs. This means reaching out for grants, such as one from Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition that covered the Alpha position this year. The Clough Chair in the Classics fund will similarly begin issuing a reimbursable grant to BPS in order to support the Classics Program Director position.
The official budget is largely supplemented by the Boston Latin School Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fundraising for BLS students, primarily through alumni donations. The organization contributes over three million dollars annually, supporting athletics, clubs, extracurriculars and major school events, as well as several elective and student support programs.
During the SSC meeting, Gallagher described the complex process of putting together the budget each year.
“[The] priority is to always meet the needs of the students of BLS,” Gallagher says. “Do we have the courses students need to graduate? Do we have counseling support? Do we have the social-emotional support? Is the team we need in place for a successful school year?”
The proposed changes mirror last year’s budget increases and align with an increase in the overall BPS budget. In a memorandum, Superintendent Mary Skipper details how the district’s budget increased by roughly 74 million dollars.
Because it is the largest and most selective school in BPS with steady enrollment, students at BLS are able to enjoy the benefits of a budget that other schools might not have; there is also no doubt that funding for BLS will continue to grow, directly benefiting teachers, students and the community. As funding increases, it will only mean positive results for students, from increasing club funding to adding additional support team positions. Many students remain optimistic about funding. Nang Dang (III) adds, “Hopefully, the new budget changes will be what the school needs.”