Plymouth school subcommittee unanimously backs $133 million FY27 budget

PLYMOUTH — January 29, 2026 — Plymouth's Finance Committee school subcommittee unanimously recommended a $133.1 million FY27 Plymouth Public Schools budget, a 3.4 percent increase over the current year. Budget Sub-Committee F Chair Brian Dunn presided over the January 29 Zoom meeting, where all three school budget items — the $133,119,875 operating budget, a $340,502 Medicaid Reimbursement budget, and a $69,000 Out-of-District Transportation budget — passed 5-0. Superintendent Chris Campbell described a budget built by drawing down revolving funds, cutting facilities spending, renegotiating vendor contracts, and betting on retirements to close a $1.7 million gap between level-service costs and the allowable guideline increase. Finance staff warned that electricity costs have since risen an unexpected $110,000 with no identified offset, and that a new transportation contract could cost roughly 42 percent more than the current deal over five years — a pressure Campbell called a serious concern heading into FY28.