Residents and teachers urge Marblehead School Committee to seek full funding as enrollment falls

At a Feb. budget hearing, Marblehead residents and teachers urged the School Committee to pursue fuller funding for schools as the district contends with a roughly 23–24% enrollment decline over the past decade.

Sarah Matusa, a teacher with nearly 20 years in Marblehead, said the proposed level-funded budget would force cuts to roles that support students who are just below proficiency. “The level funding budget is putting us in quite a pickle,” she said, warning that eliminating positions such as a math interventionist at BECCS could let students “slip through the cracks.”

The superintendent said the district’s fall enrollment projection is roughly 2,349 students and described a staff-to-student ratio near 11:1 when all licensed staff (special-education teachers, reading specialists, interventionists and others) are counted. He cautioned that the 11:1 figure does not mean typical classroom size — the district’s average classroom size was reported around 19.7 students.

Several public commenters asked why the budget did not decline in proportion to falling enrollment. District staff said year-end surpluses often reflect positions budgeted but left vacant and a long-standing practice of prepaying out‑of‑district special-education tuitions when possible, which is a legally allowed use of surplus funds.

A resident who identified himself as David Patton asked for clarity on the budget assumptions the committee is using, including the district’s projected September enrollment and the non‑special‑education class sizes. The superintendent gave the numeric projection and reiterated that class-size averages vary across grade levels and schools.

Multiple speakers urged the committee to prepare the public early if it intends to pursue a Proposition 2½ override to secure recurring operating revenue. Retired educator Ann Marie Jordan urged coordinated outreach—PTOs, families and community groups—to make the case for any override, saying public education campaigns in the past were successful when they simplified complex budget facts for town voters.

The committee did not make a final decision on the budget at the hearing. A vote to close the public portion and resume the regular meeting passed on a roll call (4–1). The superintendent and administrators said the budget subcommittee and full committee will continue deliberations before presenting a budget to town meeting.

What happens next: the committee is expected to deliberate the superintendent’s proposed level-funded budget at an upcoming meeting, with the possibility of presenting a revised funding request or placing a placeholder for a potential override on the town meeting warrant.

Sources: public comment and committee discussion at the Marblehead School Committee budget hearing; superintendent’s enrollment projection and staff-to-student figures.