District overview
Lexington Public Schools
Town-funded school governance, the FY27 operating plan, and high-school construction.
Who controls Lexington's school budget?
Lexington Public Schools is governed by a five-member elected School Committee. The committee establishes policy, hires and evaluates the superintendent, approves line-item priorities, and recommends the annual school budget. Lexington's Annual Town Meeting has authority over the total school appropriation as part of the Town budget, while the School Committee controls spending priorities within that total. The FY27 plan is overwhelmingly locally funded: the Town tax levy provides $151.37 million of the $151.73 million operating allocation, with school fees supplying the balance. State Chapter 70 aid and other municipal revenues support the Town's overall allocation process rather than appearing as a separate school-department appropriation line here.
Town Meeting sets the total appropriation
Town Meeting adopts the school amount inside the comprehensive municipal budget; the School Committee retains line-item and educational spending authority.
Local revenue growth is shared by formula
Lexington's financial summit model generally allocates 74% of new recurring revenue to schools and 26% to municipal services, creating the annual operating target.
The School Committee governs education policy
Five elected members approve budgets, curriculum and student policy, collective-bargaining positions, fees, and superintendent oversight.
Capital construction follows a separate path
Major building work uses municipal bonds, MSBA reimbursement, rebates, and capital reserves rather than the annual classroom operating appropriation.
The FY27 School Committee budget preserves core programs with a 3.9% increase, but it also reflects a net reduction of roughly 42 FTE and continued reliance on current-year special-education reimbursements and revolving funds. A higher appropriation does not mean service levels were untouched.
FY27 operating plan
Voted February 10, 2026; 3.9% above the FY26 adjusted budget.
Context calculation: $151,729,248 divided by the October 1, 2025 pre-K-12 enrollment of 6,524. This excludes municipal shared services, capital construction, and some revolving expenditures, so it is not an audited all-in per-pupil figure.
Fees and charges provide the remaining $359,500 of the listed operating allocation.
The budget book separately notes a net staffing decrease of about 42 FTE from FY26 approved levels.
Major projects
Lexington High School building project
Construction started in July 2026Lexington is building the Bloom design on the existing high-school campus, including a new school, field-house renovation and addition, central administration space, demolition of the old school, and later field reconstruction.
- MSBA approves the preferred schematic report
- School Building Committee approves the schematic-design submission
- Townwide referendum gives the Bloom design more than 62% support
- Construction begins on the occupied campus
- New school is targeted to open for the 2029-30 academic year
- Demolition and field reconstruction are expected to finish in 2030
Funding
Municipal bonds, approximately $111 million anticipated MSBA reimbursement, energy rebates, and the Town Capital Stabilization Fund
The official project FAQ gives an estimated total project cost of $659 million; the monthly finance dashboard should be used for current commitments and change orders.
FY27 operating-budget implementation
School Committee recommendation moving into the fiscal yearThe FY27 plan funds core programs while reducing staffing, increasing some transportation and athletics fees, and using Circuit Breaker and revolving balances to manage special-education and operating pressure.
- Superintendent issues the FY27 recommendation
- School Committee votes its recommended budget
- FY27 implementation begins
Funding
Town tax levy, school fees, Circuit Breaker reimbursements, and authorized revolving accounts
Town Meeting controls the total appropriation; the School Committee controls educational line-item priorities within it.
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This overview uses Lexington Public Schools' official FY27 School Committee budget book, current School Committee page, Town budget process, and Lexington High School project reports.
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