Where the BUUSD budget grew.

The whole budget and the student count

What is and is not public. BUUSD's budget page posts, for each budget cycle, a cost-center expense sheet (about seventy rows, each a school or the district office crossed with a function, with the two prior years' actuals and budgets) and a general-ledger budget report (every account line, with the same prior-year columns). It posts no audited financial statements and one annual report (2022, with no budget table). So every figure on this page is the district's own, unaudited. The sheets' actual columns carry errors the ledger does not (the sheet for the FY2027 budget counts a preschool twice in its FY2025 actuals and prints the FY2024 budget under the heading “FY24 actuals” on its second page), so the actuals here are the ledger's, grouped into the sheet's cost centers; the budgets are the sheets' own figures. Actuals by cost center are public for FY2022 through FY2025; adopted budgets for FY2022 through FY2026. FY2027 has no adopted budget: three proposals were defeated and a fourth vote is set for November 3, 2026.

Between FY2022 and FY2025, BUUSD general-fund spending (the ledger's grand total) rose 22.6%, from $43.7M to $53.6M. The adopted budget rose 18.4% between FY2023 and FY2026, from $47.3M to $55.9M; the FY2025 budget ($53.3M) passed on the fourth vote, in September 2024, after three higher proposals were defeated, and FY2027 stands at $56.6M warned for November 3, 2026 after three defeats. Over the FY2022–FY2025 window the state's fall count of students in the three schools fell 1.3%, from 2,160 to 2,131. Spending per student, the total divided by that count, rose 24.3%, from $20,226 to $25,144.

Consumer prices rose 12.7% over the same three fiscal years (the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U, FY2022 average to FY2025 average; June 2022 to June 2025, 8.9%). Spending, at 22.6%, rose more than the 12.7% rise in consumer prices; spending per student, at 24.3%, rose more than the 12.7% rise in consumer prices. By object, salaries and wages rose 17.1% over the window, benefits 25.7% and purchased professional and technical services 63.8%.

The enrollment series runs longer than the budget window. Since FY2005 the three schools' fall count is down 23.7%, from 2,792 to 2,131; Spaulding High alone is down 35.3%, from 945 to 611.

The state's measure. The Agency of Education sets the homestead tax rate on education spending per weighted pupil: the adopted budget less offsetting revenues, divided by the state's weighted pupil count. For FY2026 that figure is $11,476 per long-term weighted ADM (3,767.88 weighted pupils; rank 109 of 128 districts). The pupil measure changed in FY2025 under Act 127, so the chart below draws the years before and after apart. The FY2027 figure as printed on the district's own AOE form is $12,503 (warned).

Change by cost center

The district's sheet lists the general fund as cost centers: for each of Barre City Elementary and Middle School (BCEMS), Barre Town Middle and Elementary School (BTMES) and Spaulding High School (SHS) a row for direct instruction, preschool (the two K–8 schools), extracurricular, behavior support, school counselor, health, library, technology equipment, principals' office, school resource officer and facilities, with athletics, JROTC and technical education tuition at Spaulding; and district-wide (BUUSD) rows for the board, superintendent, business office, human resources, curriculum, technology, transportation, long-term debt and the special education program (instruction, extended school year, related services, directors, early childhood). The rows are used as printed, nothing summed above them; the ledger's account lines are one level down. The largest row is BUUSD special education instruction, $11.4M in FY2025, 21.3% of the general fund.

Ranked by percent change between the FY2022 and FY2025 actuals, among cost centers of at least $50,000 in FY2022, the five largest increases were bUUSD curriculum (+193.8%, +$0.31M); sHS JROTC (+186.6%, +$0.14M); bUUSD SEA non-reimbursable (+141.7%, +$0.13M); sHS behavior support (+72.4%, +$0.06M); bUUSD superintendent (+62.5%, +$0.18M). Spending rose 22.6% over the same window and consumer prices 12.7%, so a cost center above those lines grew faster than the budget as a whole and faster than prices. The three direct-instruction rows together went from $14.4M to $16.6M (+14.6%).

Seven cost centers of at least $50,000 in FY2022 were lower in FY2025: bUUSD revenue anticipation note (RAN) interest (−100.0%, −$0.07M); bUUSD communications (−100.0%, −$0.09M); bUUSD transportation, special education (−15.2%, −$0.09M); bCEMS + BTMES + SHS/SEA technology equipment (−9.8%, −$0.03M); bUUSD early childhood special education (−7.3%, −$0.02M); bTMES facilities (−1.0%, −$0.01M); bUUSD transportation (−0.9%, −$0.01M). Rows with no figure at one end (listed under the chart): bCEMS psychological, bTMES HHB coordinator, bUUSD interventionists, bUUSD multilingual, bCEMS 1401 (ledger group with no sheet row), sHS school resource officer (SRO), sHS transportation, work-based learning. The toggle on the chart switches to the adopted budgets, FY2023 to FY2026, where the largest percent increases among rows of at least $50,000 were sHS behavior support (+150.0%); bUUSD extended school year (ESY) services (+101.7%); bCEMS behavior support (+72.9%) and the largest dollar changes bUUSD special education instruction (+$3.14M); bCEMS behavior support (+$0.42M); bUUSD technology (+$0.40M); bTMES HHB coordinator ($79,965), bUUSD interventionists ($1,418,947), bUUSD multilingual ($129,657), sHS school resource officer (SRO) ($50,000) are new since FY2023.

The same cost centers, per student

Dividing each cost center by the year's student count puts the spending change and the enrollment change on one line. Per student, every cost center that grew in dollars shows a slightly larger percent increase than in dollars, because the FY2025 count is 1.3% lower. BTMES facilities, BUUSD transportation are lower in dollars but higher per student.

Per student, the largest percent increases among cost centers of at least $50,000 in FY2022 were bUUSD curriculum (+197.8%, $75 → $222); sHS JROTC (+190.5%, $35 → $103); bUUSD SEA non-reimbursable (+145.0%, $42 → $104). Every cost center is in the table under the chart.

These figures say what was spent and how many students there were. They do not say why a cost center grew. Was it a contract, a state requirement, a placement, a building, a program moved from a grant to the general fund, or a cost that does not move with the student count? The ledger lines below are where that question starts.

The biggest changes in dollars, one level down

Ranked by the size of the dollar change, up or down, the three cost centers that moved most between the FY2022 and FY2025 actuals were bUUSD special education instruction (+$2.89M, +34.0%); bTMES direct instruction (+$0.91M, +17.2%); sHS facilities (+$0.69M, +57.2%). Each is shown the same way the cost centers were shown above. First, change by ledger line (the cost center's account lines summed by object code), in percent and in dollars side by side; then the same lines per enrolled student; then the full table of lines with the budget beside the actual. Lines printed at one end only are listed without a change figure.

Major line-item contributors, in dollars

Across every cost center, the ledger lines with the largest dollar change, up or down. The five largest were contracted services in bUUSD special education instruction (+$1.62M, +111.8%); tuition in bUUSD special education instruction (+$0.90M, +35.2%); teacher salaries in bTMES direct instruction (+$0.64M, +18.6%); teacher salaries in bCEMS direct instruction (+$0.51M, +15.7%); and teacher salaries in sHS direct instruction (+$0.40M, +15.9%). The fifteen on the chart, decreases netted against increases, sum to 58% of the net change in the general fund, the FY2025 total less the FY2022 total (+$9.89M).

The biggest changes in percent, one level down

Ranked by the size of the percent change, up or down, among cost centers of at least $50,000 in FY2022, the three that moved most between the same two actuals were bUUSD curriculum (+193.8%, +$0.31M); sHS JROTC (+186.6%, +$0.14M); bUUSD SEA non-reimbursable (+141.7%, +$0.13M). Each gets the same three views.

Major line-item contributors, in percent

Across every cost center, the ledger lines with the largest percent change, up or down, among lines of at least $50,000 in FY2025 actual. The floor keeps off the chart lines that are small in both years, where a change of a few thousand dollars is a large percent. The five largest were contracted services (professional) in bUUSD Business Office + BUUSD Copiers (+577.8%, +$0.09M); e-rate equipment in bUUSD technology (+283.1%, +$0.09M); staff wages in bUUSD directors, special education (+234.2%, +$0.12M); contracted services in bUUSD psychological services (+200.8%, +$0.04M); and contracted services in bUUSD board (+195.9%, +$0.03M).

The general fund by object: salaries, benefits and everything else

Every account line in the ledger carries an object code, so the same reports give the general fund by object class district-wide: salaries and wages, employee benefits, purchased professional and technical services, purchased property services, other purchased services (tuition, transportation, insurance, telephone), supplies and energy, property and equipment, and dues, fees and debt service. Two windows are shown: spent, FY2022 to FY2025 actual, and budgeted, FY2023 to FY2026 adopted. Benefits do not follow pay: healthcare costs especially are uncoupled from pay in Vermont, so the two are shown apart.

Sources, method and caveats

Every number on this page comes from a table printed in one of the documents linked below, all from the district's budget page, or from the Vermont Agency of Education's enrollment collection. The tables were extracted from the PDFs and checked by footing and by the ledger's own arithmetic (every subtotal against the lines it closes, every printed variance against its two columns); the same figure printed in several documents was compared across them. The cross-year series built from them, with each figure's document and page, are the CSV downloads at the top of the page.

• FY27 Approved Revote Budget Warning - November 3, 2026 — FY27 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• FY27 Approved Revote Budget Warning - September 15, 2026 — FY27 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• FY27 Approved Revote Budget Warning - May 12, 2026 — FY27 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• FY27 Budget Summary Revenues 02-17-2026 — FY27 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• FY27 Budget Summary Expenses 02-17-2026 — FY27 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 2 pages.
• FY27 Budget Details 02-17-2026 — FY27 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 68 pages.
• FY27 Approved Budget Warning - March 3, 2026 — FY27 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• FY26 Board Approved Budget Proposal - February 12, 2025 — FY26 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 10 pages.
• FY26 Board Approved Budget Warning - March 4, 2025 — FY26 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• FY26 Proposed Budget Details — FY26 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 70 pages.
• FY26 Expenses — FY26 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 2 pages.
• FY26 Revenues — FY26 Budget Vote & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• FY25 Budget Summary — FY25 Budget Vote 4 & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• FY25 Budget Revote Expenses & Revenue — FY25 Budget Vote 4 & Tax Resources, 2 pages.
• FY25 Budget Revote Details — FY25 Budget Vote 4 & Tax Resources, 66 pages.
• FY25 Budget Revote Expenses & Revenue — FY25 Budget Vote 3 & Tax Resources, 3 pages.
• FY25 Budget Revote Details — FY25 Budget Vote 3 & Tax Resources, 57 pages.
• FY25 Budget Revote Expenses & Revenue — FY25 Budget Vote 2 & Tax Resources, 3 pages.
• FY25 Budget Revote Details — FY25 Budget Vote 2 & Tax Resources, 57 pages.
• FY25 Expenses & Revenue — FY25 Budget & Tax Resources, 3 pages.
• FY25 Budget Details — FY25 Budget & Tax Resources, 52 pages.
• Budget Revote & Warning — FY24 Budget & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• FY24 Expenses & Revenues — FY24 Budget & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• FY24 Budget Details — FY24 Budget & Tax Resources, 51 pages.
• 2022 BUUSD Annual Report — FY23 Budget & Tax Resources, 8 pages.
• FY23 Expenses & Revenues — FY23 Budget & Tax Resources, 1 pages.
• Budget Vote Warning — FY23 Budget & Tax Resources, 2 pages.
• Budget - Barre Unified Union School District (the budget page itself).

Consumer prices: Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, as published by the St. Louis Fed (FRED series CPIAUCNS), fetched October 8, 2026. Fiscal-year averages of the twelve monthly values July to June: FY2022 282.02, FY2025 317.73 (+12.7%); June 2022 296.31 to June 2025 322.56 (+8.9%). The page uses the fiscal-year averages.

Rules

• The state's per-pupil figure is shown as printed. Education spending per weighted pupil is the Agency of Education's own figure from its yearly “School District Spending Per Pupil” workbook, with the latest year from the district's own AOE form. Equalized pupils (through FY2024) and long-term weighted ADM (from FY2025) are two measures; they are never joined or compared across that line.
• Scores are for the same fiscal year as the spending figures. The state assessment tile is the share of students proficient or above on the VTCAP for FY2025 (school year 2024-25), the last year of the “spent” window, all tested grades, student-weighted, from the Agency of Education's dashboard files. The panel under the tiles sets the headline numbers beside the peer districts, with the Stanford Education Data Archive's comparison against what communities like this one typically score (latest published year, labeled). No composite rating is made, and the comparison is shown beside the actual results, never in place of them.
• Two windows, never mixed. “Spent” compares the FY2022 and FY2025 actuals, the earliest and latest years the posted ledgers print closed. “Budgeted” compares the FY2023 and FY2026 adopted budgets, the earliest adopted budget printed by cost center on a sheet and the latest adopted budget there is. FY2027, with no adopted budget, is on the totals chart only.
• Ranked both ways. Every change chart shows the same rows twice, ranked by percent change and by dollar change, in both directions. Shares are shares of the net change in the general fund. Cost centers and lines under $50,000 at the start of a window are left off the percent panel (and the percent rankings in the text) and named under the chart; they stay on the dollar panel and in the table.
• Cost centers are the district's own, as printed. A cost center is a row of the district's expense sheet; nothing is summed above it. Two rows were renamed between prints and are matched by their accounts: “BUUSD English lang. learner” became “BUUSD multilingual” and “SHS tech equip” became “SHS/SEA tech equip”. The ledger prints business office and copiers under one function, and the three technology-equipment rows under one district function, so on the spent window those appear combined; on the budgeted window they are the sheet's separate rows. “SEA” is never spelled out in the documents and is left as printed.
• Actuals are the ledger's; budgets are the sheets'. Each year's actual by cost center is the sum of the account lines of the general-ledger budget report that prints that year closed (FY2022 in the FY2024 report, FY2023 in the FY2025 report, FY2024 in the FY2026 report, FY2025 in the FY2027 report), grouped into the sheet's cost centers by the accounts' location, level, program and function; the adopted budgets confirm the grouping on every row. The sheet's own actuals, where they differ, are in the cost centers CSV beside the ledger's.
• Per student uses fall enrollment, not the weighted pupil count. The Agency of Education's October head count of students by grade (its “Fall ADM” collection, grades PK–12) for the three schools, same fiscal year, using the file's own total row for each school. The district's own per-pupil figures in its warnings (per equalized pupil through FY2024, per long-term weighted average daily membership from FY2026 under Act 127) are a funding measure, not a count of students.

Caveats

• Nothing here is audited. The budget page posts no audited financial statements; the ledger and the sheets are the district's own working documents, and the FY2025 actuals are headed “Unaudited” on the sheet.
• The sheets' actual columns disagree with the ledger. The FY2027 sheet's FY2025 actuals total $53,959,585 against the ledger's $53,582,522: BTMES direct instruction is $528,468 higher on the sheet, exactly the BTMES preschool actual, counted twice; three other rows also differ. The same sheet's second page prints the FY2024 budget under the heading “FY24 actuals”, and its grants row is a year off. The FY2023 actuals on every sheet total $47,358,637 against the ledger's $47,243,348, fifteen rows differing (transportation by $78,288). The FY2022 actuals on the sheets include a $2,350,301 transfer to the capital project fund that the ledger's general fund does not, so the sheets' FY2022 total is $46,038,535 against the ledger's $43,688,234.
• Vote history. FY2023 passed March 1, 2022 ($53,254,319 warned, general fund plus grants). FY2024 was defeated in March 2023 and passed on the revote of May 9, 2023 ($55,615,633 warned with grants; $49,615,634 general fund). FY2025 took four votes: $55,380,532 (general fund) was defeated in March 2024, $54,660,337 on May 14, $54,186,445 on June 18, and $53,308,337 passed September 17, 2024. FY2026 passed March 4, 2025 ($59,449,143 warned with grants; $55,949,143 general fund). FY2027: $57,829,257 was defeated March 3, 2026, $57,479,257 on May 12 and $57,129,257 on September 15; $56,621,592 is warned for November 3, 2026. The FY2023, FY2024 and FY2026 warnings state the general fund plus federal and state grants; the FY2027 warnings state the general fund alone.
• The FY2025 ledger behind the first vote (February 2024) and the second-vote ledger are scans without a text layer; they are not used beyond their printed grand totals, which match the sheets. The adopted FY2025 ledger (September 2024) and the vote-three ledger are text and are used.
• Rows with no figure at one end of the spent window (bCEMS psychological, bTMES HHB coordinator, bUUSD interventionists, bUUSD multilingual, bCEMS 1401 (ledger group with no sheet row), sHS school resource officer (SRO), sHS transportation, work-based learning) and of the budgeted window (bCEMS psychological, bTMES HHB coordinator, bUUSD interventionists, bUUSD multilingual, sHS school resource officer (SRO), transfer into capital project) are listed under the charts without a change figure. The ledger carries $770 of FY2022 BCEMS athletics under no sheet row; it is kept as its own row so the cost centers foot to the ledger's total.
• The state's FY2018 enrollment file lists every school at roughly double its count in the adjacent years and is left out of the enrollment line.