Lowell manager presents $617.4M FY2026 budget; superintendent, parents warn school cuts would hit students

City Manager presented the city’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on May 13, asking the City Council to accept the timely submission and begin deliberations on a $617,355,830 spending plan and proposing a 2.5% levy increase, a 6% water rate increase and a 15% sewer rate increase.

The budget presentation said the city’s general fund total is $617,355,830, an increase of 5.9% from last year, and outlined a rainy-day balance that has risen from about $13,900,000 to roughly $17.1 million. The manager told the council the plan is intended to “prepare for future uncertainty” and reduce reliance on one‑time stabilization draws.

The budget quickly became a focal point for public testimony. Liam Skinner, superintendent of Lowell Public Schools, told the council the school department did not request an increase in city cash and described the practical effects of proposed reductions: “I need the council to understand there are practical implications of that, and there are moral implications of that. Not least because 53 of our staff will lose their job.” Skinner said the school budget before the council proposes $10,000,000 in city cash, down from roughly $14,000,000 last year and short of a $14,900,000 contribution he said would match a 22% cash proportion of net school spending.

Several school staff and parents described specific program impacts. Rebecca Duda, coordinator of special programs for Lowell Public Schools, said her office “is looking at a $400,000 decrease according to the proposed cuts. That is a decrease of 38%,” and warned that the change would cut direct services to about 3,000 students who use before‑and‑after‑school and summer programs. A middle‑school student, Lily Ramirez, and parent speakers urged councilors not to cut summer STEM and Latinx scholar programs that they said help students pursue advanced courses and careers.

Councilors pressed the administration for options. The city manager said the administration will continue discussions with the superintendent and explore alternatives, including using one‑time reserves and seeking other revenues: “We will petition the public employees committee ... that is currently sitting on approximately $3,000,000,” he said, and added the administration would look for budget reductions and other one‑time measures to help bridge the gap.

City Chief Financial Officer Connor Baldwin described the timeline for state aid and how the council could act if state chapter 70 numbers change after the council adopts a budget: “There’s a fairly simple procedure whereby the city manager would recommend to the council a supplemental appropriation, and that can happen as soon as the state budget is passed,” he told the council, saying any additional state funds could be added later by majority vote.

Councilors and the manager discussed tradeoffs between raising taxes, drawing reserves and cutting services; several councilors urged the manager to work with Superintendent Skinner to avoid losing frontline staff before potential state aid materializes. On a procedural vote the council accepted the timely submission of the budget and referred the appropriation order to a public hearing on May 27.

What happens next: the council will hold a public hearing on the FY2026 appropriation order on May 27, additional budget deliberations are expected over the next two weeks, and the city manager and superintendent signaled they will continue negotiations about restoring school funding if feasible.