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Committee discusses stipends and user fees as possible targets if deeper FY28 cuts occur

Marblehead School Committee (Budget Subcommittee) · January 30, 2026

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Summary

School leaders reviewed which stipends are contractually required and which extracurricular costs are covered by fees and boosters, and warned that sustained level funding into FY28 could force review of user fees and cocurricular supports. The committee asked for appendices and schedules to be included in the budget book.

Committee members and administration spent a substantial portion of the meeting reviewing stipends, user fees and the role of booster and PTO fundraising in supporting extracurriculars.

A committee member asked the administration to include salary schedules and appendices from all contracts in the budget book so the public can see approved stipends tied to CBAs. The administration confirmed that most stipends are included in collective bargaining agreements, while a small number of clerical or activity stipends are not. Summer-program pay and recreation department fees show up as "other income" in annual wage reports, the administration said.

Members noted that community groups ' boosters, PTOs, and the Friends of the Marblehead Public Schools ' contribute significant support for athletics, performing arts and enrichment programs. The committee discussed fairness concerns about relying on donations and user fees and acknowledged that, if deeper cuts are required in FY28 without an override, the district will need to evaluate co-curricular subsidies, fees and potential impacts to programs that currently rely on outside fundraising.

The administration offered to add detailed revolving-account beginning and ending balances and to include contract appendices and stipend schedules in the budget book so the committee and public can see how many and what types of stipends exist district-wide. The committee suggested administrators and members consider town-hall style outreach if community interest ahead of the Feb. 26 hearing is high.

The discussion ended without a decision to change fee structures at this meeting; the committee requested more documentation for the Feb. 5 recommended budget presentation.