Lawrence Public Schools presents $305 million spending plan; committee presses for clarity on grants and staffing

Superintendent Roberto Guerrero (name used in discussion) and Chief Financial Officer Jason Cabrera presented the Lawrence Public Schools (LPS) proposed fiscal 2026 budget to the Budget and Finance Committee on May 29, showing a total appropriation in the presentation of $305,144,??? (documented in the packet as the schools’ operating request). Guerrero told the committee the district is prioritizing early-childhood expansions, smaller class sizes, strengthened curriculum materials and summer and after-school programs targeted to the district’s highest-need students.

CFO Jason Cabrera walked the committee through the revenue and expenditure tables, explaining the interplay between state Chapter 70 aid, charter tuition/choice tuition off-sets, municipal costs and special education out-of-district tuition. Cabrera and the superintendent emphasized that federal and state grants (Title I, IDEA and others) roll over on two-year cycles and that the district aims to align grant-funded positions with locally funded staffing.

Councilors pressed for more granular reporting. Councilor Luzon asked for titles and counts of new positions; the superintendent said the district expects roughly 45 new positions next year—about 20 tied to Student Opportunity Act (SOA) funding and roughly 25 additional roles—many instructional (including eight early-education teachers and para-professionals and 13 instructional coaches). Several councilors asked for school-level breakdowns showing local-versus-grant-funded staffing; the superintendent said a grant-funded-positions table could be supplied. Council President Rodriguez requested clarification on a DESE report that appeared to show a multi-million-dollar shortfall; CFO Cabrera said the apparent shortfall came from reporting/encumbrance classification issues and that he would provide documentation showing the state figures require correction.

Transportation and charter tuition were central concerns. Cabrera summarized that charter tuition and school-choice payments are assessed to LPS based on enrollment and that the proposed transportation budget reflects ongoing contract negotiations; the district is seeking multi-year contracts and exploring increased use of public transit and targeted zone routing to reduce costs, especially for students displaced or living in out-of-district foster/homeless placements.

The committee requested a follow-up packet with: a school-by-school spreadsheet showing local vs grant-funded positions, project-level grant lists with amounts and positions, historical overtime and vacancy data, a detailed transportation cost and routing analysis and the DESE correspondence that addresses the apparent carryover/encumbrance reporting discrepancy.