2025 Report From the School Directors

January 2026

School budgets reflect the values of the school community. As School Directors, we seek to balance the values of students and parents, administration and staff, and taxpayers in the community.

The administration and staff initially work through the autumn months to propose a budget. This typically includes adjustments to meet the ever-changing needs of the student population. Those adjustments may affect staffing, program offerings or facility needs. The proposed budget is always crafted with the best interests of the students in mind, and Principal Anderson always does an excellent job balancing needs with resources. As she nears retirement at the end of this school year, we thank her for her long and dedicated service to the CES community and wish her the best.

Last September LNSU surveyed the community regarding budget priorities, summarizing the Cambridge- specific data. Out of 85 responses from Cambridge residents, instruction and classroom resources was the top priority (72%), followed by student support services (38%), co-curricular programs such as athletics/arts/clubs (33%), and school safety, both physical and emotional (30%). Further insight indicated that the community values overall academic excellence and equity, as well as a whole child focus on well-being.

In parallel to the LNSU survey, the CES Board revisited our Board Goals to encapsulate the values we consider important. We proposed goals, discussed and found common ground, resulting in a 3-year vision for CES. The areas of focus we consider important are academic excellence, whole child development and a safe and supportive environment. This exercise strengthens the school board’s ability to work together because regardless of our diverse perspectives, it reinforces we have more common ground than not. It will also assist us in our upcoming principal search as we look for a candidate that shares our vision.

In December, the Board again surveyed the community, receiving 274 responses. We inquired about the characteristics of CES that the community seeks to retain, as we await the next steps from the legislature following Act 73. Most respondents cited the high-quality education and programs, a dedicated and caring staff, a focus on student development, and a strong community connection to local identity and culture.

This budget season we find ourselves in an unusual position. Education expenses per pupil for Cambridge Elementary are down for FY27, translating to a decrease of over 3% in overall educational expenses and a decrease of over 5% in base tax rate. Driving the decrease are prudent staffing considerations and the retirement of the school construction bond debt last fall. However, being a statewide funding system, our homestead tax rate will continue to be affected by the CLA and Yield values, as well as the potential for the State to “buy down” the taxes with surplus money.

Ideally, community values should align across stakeholders in a shared vision. The survey data and our Board Goals (all of which are linked at https://ces.lnsd.org/community/school-board) reinforces this to be generally true for CES. The Board weighed input from each stakeholder - the Administration, student families and the greater community - to develop a budget that reflects this shared vision. As with the dynamics of developing the Board Goals, there are always diverse perspectives to consider. But the Board, administration, staff, families and taxpayers also share more common ground in our vision for CES than not. For this, the Board thanks the community for its continued support of CES through our shared vision.

Respectfully Submitted,
Mark Stebbins, Chairperson