Swampscott School Committee hears 3.96% budget increase, adds staff for MTSS and pathways
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Summary
The Swampscott School Committee reviewed a proposed FY2027 budget that would raise spending 3.96%, add a fifth-grade teacher at the middle school, create a middle-school health teacher position, and shift some grant-funded roles into the operating budget; the committee also approved a Boston Bruins Foundation donation.
The Swampscott School Committee on Jan. 22 reviewed a proposed FY2027 budget that district leaders said would increase spending by 3.96%, or about $1.35 million, while preserving investments in student-focused programs.
Superintendent Kalishman opened the presentation, saying the plan is "anchored in fiscal responsibility" and that "our focus is student success," and described the budget as a bottom-up proposal built to sustain multi-tiered supports and career pathways.
The budget would fund a renewed emphasis on MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support), add an additional fifth-grade teacher at Swampscott Middle School to reduce class sizes that Gallagher described as "around 25," and create a health teacher position at the middle school. "We want to make sure that every student is getting what they need," Gallagher said when explaining MTSS and classroom supports.
Administrators singled out several efficiency moves: reducing multilingual-learners (MLL) staffing where enrollment has fallen, moving one elementary administrative assistant position, consolidating a morning and afternoon K–12 bus with a monitor, and trimming one contracted cleaning post at the elementary school. Gallagher said the district is projecting 92 MLL students this year and that some neighboring districts have made similar consolidations.
District finance staff said compensation drives most of the budget — about 80% of spending — and that 71% of those costs are governed by collective bargaining. The administration cost center would rise about 18.35%, driven largely by the salary reserve and an unusual projection of 71 "lane changes" submitted for next year versus a historical average near 47. Gallagher said a negotiated change now limits employees to one lane change per fiscal year to give the town more cost certainty.
Leaders noted an expected $6.6 million in capital requests and planned use of roughly $4.6 million in revolving funds and circuit-breaker aid to offset out-of-district special-education costs. They also told the committee they will not request free cash for elementary utilities this year because the budget now includes those utilities, a step that renders prior MOUs about utilities "moot," the presentation said.
Presenters placed the district’s numbers in context with DESE peer data: average peer-group teacher pay at about $92,009 vs. Swampscott’s reported $91,005, and demographic trends including increases since FY2017 in students with disabilities (+8.5%), high-needs students (+11.7%), and low-income students (+6.3%). Gallagher noted Swampscott’s per-pupil spending sits slightly below peer averages while net school spending remains above the state-required contribution.
Committee members asked several operational questions, including current class-size targets — Gallagher said the goal is to return fifth-grade class sizes toward 20–22 students — and whether positions funded in the budget will be sustainable beyond one year. "I hope it's not just for a year or two," Kalishman said of newly funded hires.
The committee was told the budget timeline includes a public hearing and committee vote on Feb. 5, submission of the budget to the town administrator on Feb. 13, and a subsequent presentation to the town finance committee in March ahead of town meeting.
Votes at a glance
The committee approved a donation from the Boston Bruins Foundation to the elementary school — described in the record as roughly $10,000 total (about $3,000 in Franklin Sports equipment and a check for just under $7,000). The motion to accept the donation was made by Miguel, seconded by John, and was recorded as "it carries unanimously." The committee also approved the regular-session minutes of Jan. 8, 2026, and then adjourned.
What’s next
The school committee will hold its public budget hearing and vote on Feb. 5. The district will respond to finance-committee questions in February and submit the recommended budget to the town administrator on Feb. 13 before the town finance review in March.
