Salem — The Salem School Committee heard a fiscal update Dec. 1 outlining strains in the district’s FY26 budget, with leaders warning of a personnel shortfall and rising transportation costs tied to special-education needs.

Assistant Superintendent Elizabeth Pauley told the committee the district’s total general fund appropriation is $78,000,000 and that while about 72% of the personnel budget appears unspent at this early point, projections show a personnel deficit "of about $700,000" if current trends continue. She attributed the pressure to several factors, including lane changes tied to additional educator credentials, salary adjustments for renewed contracts, new positions created for enrollment changes, and hires at higher rates than originally budgeted.

Pauley also flagged substitute and leave costs: the district budgets $250,000 for daily substitutes and $90,000 for long-term subs. She said an increased reliance on retired-teacher substitutes and a higher number of leaves this year have driven sub spending above expectations.

"We have seen twice as many leaves," Pauley said during questions from committee members, adding that those long-term absences materially increase long-term sub costs.

Non-personnel spending is currently about one-third actual and roughly 71.7% committed when encumbrances are included. Pauley said homeless-student transportation expenses are down from last year and are not a current concern because the district has fewer students identified as experiencing homelessness. Yet she raised a separate transportation concern tied to special-education services: the district added six wheelchair vans and six monitors since September, which Pauley said increased monthly costs by about $56,000 and is projected to put that line approximately $400,000 over budget for the year.

Pauley said the district expects to balance by instituting stricter monitoring and, if needed, a budget freeze later in the year and by exploring whether additional allowable charges can be shifted to grants. She noted the district will revise projections after the state’s Chapter 70 funding figures are released in January.

Committee members asked for follow-up detail, including a breakdown of the $700,000 personnel projection and the composition of increased leave usage. Pauley and the superintendent offered to provide more detailed figures and run the numbers with the budget subcommittee.

The committee approved a set of budget transfer requests later in the meeting to move funds between non-personnel and stipend lines for safety-care stipends, multilingual tutors, Bentley stipends, and music contracted services.

What happens next: Pauley said the district will continue monitoring expenses, may implement a budget pause or freeze this winter or spring, and will present updated figures after Chapter 70 allocations are published in January.