Beverly superintendent lays out FY26 budget pressures, seeks offsets from revolving funds and grants

Superintendent Suzanne Cherochek told the Beverly School Committee on Feb. 26 that salaries and benefits account for roughly 85% of the district's appropriated budget and that several known cost increases will put pressure on the FY26 plan.

Cherochek said the district's FY25 appropriated budget was $78,267,064, and noted that settled contract steps, cost-of-living adjustments and other compensation changes for Unit A, B, C and other employees amount to an estimated $4,961,407 in wage-and-benefit increases for FY26.

Why it matters: salary and special-education costs form the bulk of school spending, so changes to contracts, out-of-district placements, transportation reimbursements and one-time federal grant availability can require the district to draw on revolving accounts or seek additional city support.

Key figures and pressures

- Appropriated FY25 budget cited: $78,267,064; salary & benefits ~85% of that total. - Contractual wage-and-benefit increases (FY25'—to'FY26): about $4,961,407 (settled unit contracts, step/cola/lanes, health insurance and other compensation changes). - Out-of-district special-education tuition: district anticipates a $600,000 increase; the district reported an out-of-district tuition line of about $2,000,000, of which transportation for those placements and other contracted transportation account for a large…