North Andover school committee hears hours of public comment on FY26 budget as community urges level-service funding

The North Andover School Committee heard more than two hours of public testimony and extended discussion on Jan. 30 as officials and residents debated three competing FY26 budget scenarios and the possibility of closing Kittredge Elementary School.

Interim Superintendent Pam Lathrop presented a recap of the FY26 budget work and the district's options, saying the school department faces a structural shortfall that must be closed before the new fiscal year. Lathrop said the district's level-service cost projection — the budget that maintains current staffing and programming — totals about $71.8 million, leaving an estimated deficit of roughly $6.9 million compared with other proposals. She told the committee that her office had prepared a level-service budget, an alternative reduced budget and a guidance budget provided by town leadership and that each carried different operational consequences for schools.

Why it matters: Parents, teachers and students said the guidance and alternative budgets would cut services that they say are essential to students' learning and social-emotional supports. Many urged the committee to transmit a level-service budget to town officials and to rally voter support for any additional revenue needed. Several speakers tied the budget choices to long-term town policy, taxation constraints and earlier municipal agreements that limit annual levy growth.

Public concerns and testimony

Dozens of residents, educators and students took the microphone during the public hearing to press for a level-service budget and to warn of the impact of cuts. Erin Harris, a parent, told the committee, “We are in an identity crisis. Are we a town who is going to accept doing the bare minimum for our children?”

Teachers and staff described how cuts would…