Norwood school committee hears sharp public pushback on FY26 budget cuts to Latin and elementary specials

Norwood — The Norwood School Committee and district administrators on March 19 presented a proposed $65,292,117 fiscal 2026 school budget that would increase spending 6.7% over FY25 while shifting staff to open the new Coakley Middle School. The budget drew sustained public comment and a directive from the committee to the budget subcommittee and administration to revisit several staffing and schedule changes before the panel’s final vote next week.

The district’s senior staff opened the hearing by summarizing key elements of the proposal. “This is a $65,292,117 budget that represents a 6.7 increase over the Norwood Public Schools FY '25 budget,” Superintendent Tim Lehi said. The plan adds 6.6 net full‑time equivalent positions to support Coakley, funds 12.8 support positions and budgets for two additional behavior interventionists and a director of safety, compliance and communications, Lehi said. The budget also assumes about $125,000 for middle‑school curriculum coordination and funds two to three additional yellow buses, a line the administrators said increases transportation costs by roughly $894,271 because of the new routes and a recent bus bid.

Why it matters: the budget would reallocate an existing world‑language teacher from the high school to provide a world‑language program starting in fifth grade at Coakley, effectively removing a dedicated Latin teacher position at Norwood High School. The administration told the committee it would continue to offer Latin through online options for current students while it vets other program models. The proposal also reduces elementary specialist staffing and would cut two elementary librarian FTEs and reassign other elementary specialists to support middle‑school programming.

Parents and educators who testified at the hearing warned that those changes would harm students. In written comments read into the record, parent Emily Keiser asked the committee to “prioritize restoring the high school Latin teacher’s position in school year ’26 should funds become available,” and said the World Language Department and students support keeping Latin. In public comment, Laura Jordan, who identified herself as a 23‑year Latin teacher in another district, told committee members, “Do not eliminate Latin,” and said an online option would be “insulting” to students who have invested in the program.

Specialists and the district’s fine‑arts director described potential classroom impacts if the proposed elementary schedule goes forward. Jeff Curran, director of fine arts, said the specialist team was not given adequate time to vet schedule changes and that a proposed reduction of regular class time from 40 minutes to 35 minutes would make many arts and hands‑on lessons — clay, printmaking, multi‑day projects — impractical. Jody Smith, president of the Norwood Teachers Association, warned that daily travel between buildings, shortened class slots and fewer specialist staff would reduce planning time and “degrade” services for elementary students.

Administrators defended the plan as an attempt to balance program needs and a constrained revenue picture. Sean Mannion, presenting slides with budget history, said earlier preliminary requests were reduced after discussion with the town’s budget balancing commission, and that the current proposal reflects a compromise that cuts $883,697 from the preliminary 8.1% request to reach the 6.7% figure. Lehi cautioned that the district is relying on one‑time free cash this year and noted the town’s projected free‑cash drawdown. He also told the committee the district is monitoring potential federal changes to Medicaid that could affect MassHealth reimbursements used to fund several specialized positions.

Health insurance costs emerged as an additional budget pressure. District staff told the committee the town recently learned of a 13% increase in health insurance premiums, up from earlier estimates of 8–10.5%, and that the town expects to need an additional $200,000–$300,000 of free cash to close the municipal budget gap — an amount that could reduce the funding available to schools.

After more than an hour of public comment and committee discussion, School Committee member Kate moved that the administration and the budget subcommittee revisit the specialist schedule and other reduction options in light of the testimony and bring updated information back next week; a second was made for discussion and the motion passed with four yes votes and one abstention. Committee members also asked administrators to produce clearer comparisons of the current schedule and the proposed schedule, along with a plain‑language explanation of program tradeoffs, before the committee’s final FY26 vote scheduled for next Wednesday.

Other items during the meeting included routine approvals. The committee approved minutes and accepted a DECA field‑trip request to send two high‑school students to the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Fla.; the field trip motion passed on a roll‑call vote. The committee also approved two advocacy letters — one to state legislators asking for chapter 70 and special education policy changes and one to federal lawmakers urging protection of school Medicaid reimbursements — and accepted a small donation; both letters and the donation were approved unanimously.

Next steps: the school committee will meet again next Wednesday to take a final vote on the FY26 budget. Administrators said they will provide the revised specialist schedules, scenario comparisons and any alternative reduction options before that vote. The committee also noted the Finance Commission will meet March 27 to consider its position before town meeting later in the spring.

“We are listening,” Kate said after the public comment period, “and we want more information so we can make a decision that protects student programming where we can.”