Everett School Committee opens and closes FY2026 public hearing with no public speakers; superintendent outlines budget totals

The Everett School Committee opened a public hearing Monday on the proposed fiscal year 2026 operating budget, took public testimony (none was offered) and closed the hearing the same evening.

The hearing was held under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 71, section 38N; the committee followed the statutory three‑call format for in‑favor and opposed speakers and recorded that no members of the public came forward to speak for or against the proposed budget.

Superintendent remarks to the committee summarized the proposed operating budget and related details. He said the FY26 operating budget presented at the budget committee of the whole totals $136,940,205, with an additional $5,214,000 listed for special‑education transportation. The superintendent told members the proposed budget is “less than 5% increase over last year,” contains no layoffs and aligns the district chart of accounts with the state reporting structure. He described reallocations of line items to more appropriate accounts (for example, shifting athletics stipends to athletics line items) to improve transparency for next year’s review.

At least one public commenter addressed the budget outside the formal hearing: Kim Auger, president of the Everett Teachers Association, thanked the committee for a “fair and equitable budget” and said teachers and the union were grateful the proposal kept student‑facing positions and avoided layoffs.

The budget committee of the whole report was accepted by the School Committee and then formally referred to the committee’s regular meeting on April 29 for further action and final decisions.

No final vote on the FY26 operating budget was taken at the April 7 meeting.