The Ashland School Board on Thursday night turned recent snow days into furlough days and took the first step to initiate potential layoffs in the 2025-26 school year. A letter, which the board unanimously approved, will start a 30-day period for the district and the Ashland Education Association to discuss a potential reduction in force, or RIF, to deal with ongoing budget shortfalls.

An audit found “significant deficiencies” in the Ashland School District’s 2023 budget, such as failing to properly account for $677,841 in a contingency fund. The corrected budget issues don’t affect the district’s budget shortfall issues, which will require cutting school days this year and other measures.

A big-hearted, anonymous donor has gifted the Ashland School District with a total donation of $890,000 via Ashland Schools Foundation, helping the district avoid more than six furlough days in the balance of the 2024-25 school year, as the district faces the need to cut $2.2 million of its $40 million budget.

Among considerations being proposed by Ashland School District amid a looming $2.2 million in budget cuts are cutting five to 10 days of school and/or moving​​ to a four-day work week, according to Rebecca Dyson, Ashland School Board chair, who spoke to Ashland.news before the first of several listening sessions with Superintendent Joseph Hattrick regarding potential budget cuts. No actions have been taken nor will be taken without public comment.