North Andover School Committee votes to forward $68.2 million FY26 budget, approves two MOAs

The North Andover School Committee voted to forward a $68,200,000 recommended Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget to the town, and approved two memoranda of agreement reached in executive session covering custodial pay differentials and administrative assistant hours.

The vote to send a $68.2 million budget to the Select Board and Finance Committee followed more than two hours of public comment and committee discussion about class sizes, staffing cuts and the risk of using levy capacity now rather than preserving it for a possible debt exclusion for the Kittredge school project. Superintendent Lathrop framed the recommendation as a middle path “between the blue and the purple” options the district presented and said the administration would make programmatic decisions within that total to keep elementary class sizes at or near 25 students where possible.

The committee’s motion directs the superintendent to work within the $68.2 million total and to prepare a detailed cost-center plan for how that number will be implemented. Committee members debated how much levy capacity to leave available for the town to use next year; the superintendent and town manager had previously advised leaving roughly $2.0 million in levy capacity to avoid an override for a level-services budget in FY27. Committee members who supported the $68.2 million figure said it strikes a balance between avoiding deeper cuts this year and preserving enough capacity to pursue the Kittredge project. Those who opposed the figure said it risks forcing an operating override or making next year’s debt exclusion for Kittredge more expensive.

Public commenters pressed the committee to adopt a larger, “level services” budget. Erin Harris, a resident, told the committee “Investing in our schools is an investment in our town” and warned that underfunding produces higher out-of-district special-education placements. Several other parents and teachers urged the committee to avoid cuts to special education, counseling and other student-facing services. Commenters also asked the committee to be explicit about how many positions would be cut under each budget scenario and what would happen to Kittredge-area students if the district closed that building.

On the budget specifics presented during the meeting: the district showed a guidance budget of $64,858,914, a “level services” projection of roughly $71.7 million (which the administration said would require tapping approximately $5.0 million in levy capacity and a $2.0 million override), a “blue” alternative around $67,604,000, and a “purple” alternative just over $69.0 million. Superintendent Lathrop reported that, if the district tried to hold level services into FY27, the level-services path would project to about $76.0 million next year without additional revenue. The administration also briefed the committee that, under the blue plan, the district would eliminate roughly 34.5 teacher positions overall, while the purple plan would reduce roughly 23–29 positions depending on how cuts were implemented; the administration said those numbers included classroom teachers and some specialist staff and that it would prioritize minimizing impacts to student-facing roles where possible.

Committee members repeatedly raised the Kittredge debt-exclusion schedule as a complicating factor. Lathrop and several committee members said the Massachusetts School Building Authority had prioritized Kittredge as the district’s best candidate for state assistance; using substantial levy capacity this year would make the local share and the annual debt service for any future bond greater. Committee members noted federal funding streams the district receives (Title I, IDEA and school food programs) total roughly $3.4 million annually and said changes at the federal level could affect the district budget.

Before the public-comment and budget discussion, the committee briefly reported on two memoranda of agreement reached during executive session and voted them in open session. The first covers custodial staff who also perform maintenance duties; the memorandum corrects a pay differential typo in the prior contract. The second memorandum clarifies administrative assistants’ work day and adds a 15-minute paid break to reflect bargaining results; the committee said the original contract language misstated a 7-hour day rather than the agreed 7.5-hour day with paid lunch.

Formal outcomes

- Memorandum of agreement with custodial association: approved in open session after executive session vote. The committee recorded affirmative votes from the members present and the agreement was entered into the record as approved. - Memorandum of agreement with North Andover Educational Administrative Assistants Association: approved in open session after executive session vote. - FY26 operating budget recommendation: Motion to forward a $68,200,000 recommendation to the Select Board and Finance Committee passed; the committee instructed the superintendent to produce detailed cost-center allocations within that total and to prioritize student-facing services where feasible.

Committee members and the superintendent stressed that the recommendation is a committee action to forward a number to the town process; the final town appropriation will be determined through the Select Board, Finance Committee and Town Meeting process and could change before the town votes on the budget. Superintendent Lathrop said the administration will return with a detailed implementation plan showing which positions and programs would be adjusted to meet the $68.2 million limit and will engage further with families and staff as that work proceeds.