Superintendent presents draft FY26 budget; district requests $6.44 million from city, seeks further revenues

The Beverly School Committee received an update on the district’s draft FY26 operating budget at its April 9 meeting. District leaders presented a 0‑based budget proposal that reflects higher wages and benefits, rising special‑education costs and transportation pressures; the draft includes a city contribution request of approximately $6.44 million (an 8.8% increase over the prior year) and a still‑unfilled revenue gap the district said it expects to cover through a combination of state aid movement, local revenues and internal adjustments.

Why it matters: Staffing and contractual costs remain the largest drivers of the budget. District leaders told the committee they intend to preserve core programs — including career pathways, fine arts and social‑emotional staffing — while looking for efficiencies and reassignments to limit classroom impact.

Key numbers and approach: District staff said an initial run of required increases exceeded $9 million before offsetting actions; after identifying staffing realignments, repurposed roles, previously grant‑funded position changes and other savings the net projected increase is roughly $6.0–6.5 million (reported as an 8.8% budget increase). The district asked the city for $6.44 million in additional local funding; the superintendent said final state Chapter 70 aid numbers are pending and could affect the remaining gap. Presenters referenced the governor’s proposed Chapter 70 figure cited in the meeting packet.

Planned offsets and strategies: The presentation outlined several strategies staff are pursuing to narrow the gap, including: - Enrollment‑driven staffing adjustments (matching staff to projected course and grade needs). - Repurposing vacant, non‑student‑facing positions and aligning central office duties following recent retirements. - Realigning grant‑funded positions and reviewing previously contracted services (HVAC, fellows, consultants). - Targeted reductions (for example, moving away from some kindergarten/first‑grade 1:1 device models and consolidating software licenses) and shifting eligible food‑service equipment repair costs to the school lunch fund where state rules permit. - Adjusting preschool staffing to match rolling enrollment and repurposing some roles to provide coaching to AIM (autism) classrooms.

Grants and state actions: The district noted new state action relevant to special‑education transportation and circuit breaker reimbursement: a proposed House supplemental that would allocate additional circuit‑breaker funds (the presentation cited a $58 million supplemental carve‑out for circuit breaker shortfalls) and items to study school transportation costs at the state level. District leaders said increased circuit breaker funding would reduce the FY25 shortfall; the FY26 Chapter 70 allocation remained under discussion at the state level.

Next steps and timeline: The district will refine building‑level cost centers and present a final draft at the committee’s May 14 budget hearing. Committee members were invited to schedule one‑on‑one briefings with the superintendent before that meeting. The superintendent asked the committee to expect a formal budget vote after the public hearing and for the board to submit its request to the city appropriators following the committee vote.

Committee reaction: Members asked for further detail on library staffing, special‑education caseloads and the preschool program. Several committee members thanked staff for using a zero‑based approach and for early outreach to city leaders; the mayor and city negotiators were described as actively engaged in the multi‑year budgeting discussions.

Operational note: District staff emphasized that the projections assume typical enrollment patterns but that mid‑year transfers and Essex Tech enrollments can materially affect course staffing at the high school; staff said they will continue to monitor enrollments and will bring regular updates to the committee.