North Andover school leaders preview FY2027 budget, flag class sizes and bus needs
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Summary
Superintendent Lathrop presented a preliminary FY2027 budget overview on Dec. 18, saying the town-manager’s recommended 4.05% increase could bring the school budget toward about $72.2 million; administration highlighted class‑size pressures at Franklin, planned additional bus service needs, and a timeline of public hearings and votes in January.
Superintendent Lathrop and district finance staff on Dec. 18 gave the North Andover School Committee an early look at fiscal-year 2027 priorities and constraints, emphasizing that personnel costs already account for roughly 80% of the current budget.
Lathrop said the FY26 baseline is about $69.2 million and that the town‑manager’s recommended budget increase of 4.05% would move the district toward roughly $72.2 million. She stressed this was a preliminary overview: “This is not a final version of the budget,” Lathrop said, and the superintendent’s recommended budget will be presented to the committee on Jan. 8, followed by a public hearing on Jan. 15 and a committee vote on Jan. 29. The town’s annual meeting to approve spending is scheduled for May 12, 2026.
The administration identified several known adjustments that will carry into FY27, including three teaching-assistant positions added during FY26 that the district intends to make permanent and a likely addition of one elementary classroom at Franklin School to address a misalignment in grade sections. Lathrop said the capital-improvement plan includes a request (about $1.3 million) to relocate four portables from the former Kittredge site to Franklin to create usable classroom space.
Transportation emerged as a near-term operational priority. The district recommended adding one general-education bus and one special-education bus to the current contract to shorten route times; Lathrop clarified the district would add buses by contracting, not by buying vehicles outright.
Committee members asked for clarity about what the administration means by a “level services” budget. Lathrop defined that term as rolling current services forward while accounting for known contractual escalations — cost-of-living adjustments, step and lane increases, transportation and tuition changes — and said some priority items might nonetheless be accommodated within a level-services proposal. Finance staff Gail Dowd added that transportation and out‑of‑district tuition are the most fluid and highest‑risk expense lines to monitor.
On staffing, the administration cited priorities including expanded special‑education supports, more teacher‑leadership roles, increased mental‑health services, and competitive daily substitute pay. Lathrop said the district currently pays substitutes more than $100 per day and is exploring phased increases or alternative models (for example, benefit‑eligible permanent substitutes or higher pay for retired teachers) to improve coverage.
The presentation also noted the Kittredge elementary-school project; schematic design was submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), and officials said the town will finance its share through bonding at town meeting rather than a separate debt‑exclusion ballot.
Next procedural steps: the superintendent will deliver a recommended FY27 budget on Jan. 8; the committee will hold a public hearing on Jan. 15 and vote on the recommendation on Jan. 29. The administration invited committee input on priorities before the Jan. 8 presentation.
