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Brookline schools face multi‑million dollar budget gap; override on May 5 would stave off steep cuts
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Summary
School committee member Suzanne Federspiel told a local interview the district's budget gap has fallen from about $10–12 million to roughly $4–5 million but remains large; the May 5 operating override — phased in over three years — is endorsed by the full committee and would avert deep staffing and program losses.
Suzanne Federspiel, a member of the Brookline School Committee and a candidate for re‑election, said the district has narrowed a forecast budget shortfall from roughly $10–12 million to about $4–5 million but still needs the operating override on the May 5 ballot to avoid major reductions.
"So we've come down to we do need an override," Federspiel said, explaining that the override is intended to preserve a level of service rather than add new programs. She also noted, "Since the last override, we've actually cut 20 positions," and warned that district planning scenarios show "a possibility of 200 staff being eliminated" over three years if voters reject the override.
The override, she said, was developed through the budget process in which the superintendent and the finance deputy assemble a budget and the town sets the amount of funding the schools will receive; the difference is the gap the district must close. Federspiel cited constraints on local revenues, including a 2.5 percent tax‑levy limit, and rising costs such as benefits and medical insurance.
All nine current members of the school committee and four school committee candidates have endorsed the override, Vitolo noted during the interview. Federspiel confirmed the plan is phased in over three years and characterized it as preserving existing services: "We're not adding. We're not subtracting too much, just a little bit here and there. But we do need the override."
Without additional revenue, Federspiel said the district would face hard choices: reductions that have already included elimination of some programs (she cited cuts to world language in lower grades) and staff, and the possibility of losing programs such as the middle‑grade conservatory music program. She also described the committee's work with town advisory bodies and a task force to narrow the gap and explore revenue options.
Federspiel discussed longer‑term revenue prospects, pointing to potential development along Route 9 and scheduled relief from a prior debt override and pension obligations by about 2030 as factors that could ease pressure in later years. She emphasized the school committee's ongoing collaboration with town officials and the central office on multi‑year fiscal planning.
The next procedural step is the May 5 town election, when voters will decide whether to approve the operating override. Voting hours, Federspiel and the host said, run 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; the district will implement the override over the three years described if voters approve it.
