Salem Public Schools proposes $78.2 million FY26 budget with 56.5 position reductions; public and unions urge alternatives

Salem Public Schools proposed a $78,173,061 fiscal year 2026 budget April 7, asking the School Committee to approve a 4.8% increase in the district appropriation while closing a roughly $4.9 million budget gap through recurring revenue, nonpersonnel reductions and elimination of 56.5 full-time equivalent positions.

The proposal, presented by Superintendent Zreich and Assistant Superintendent Elizabeth Pauley, would hold class-size caps in most grades, preserve prekindergarten and early-college and CTE programming, and prioritize student-facing roles where possible. Pauley said the district expects the appropriation to be voted by the School Committee on April 28 and then reviewed by City Council in May.

The budget matters because Salem’s enrollment and student needs are rising while key one-time pandemic funds have ended, officials said. Pauley reported October 1 enrollment at 3,831 (the DESE baseline) and current enrollment of 3,958, with marked growth among multilingual learners (up 9% to about 1 in 5 students) and special-education students (up 8.4%, about 1 in 4 students). Those increases, plus rising transportation, utilities and out-of-district tuition costs, are major cost drivers, officials said.

“Chapter 70 has not increased at a rate that keeps pace with inflation,” the superintendent told the committee, citing the state funding formula as a long-term constraint. Pauley added that state Chapter 70 revenue for the district is projected to increase about $396,000, and that local appropriation from the city is…