Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Newburyport school budget presentation shows 5.2% recommended increase; members debate cuts to staff and programs
Summary
District staff told the School Committee the FY27 budget would require roughly a 5.2% increase in city appropriation under the preferred scenario; the committee debated three scenarios that together could eliminate up to five full‑time positions and considered using fees and revolving funds to reduce the impact.
District staff presented the Newburyport School Committee with a preliminary FY27 budget on March 25, saying the total budget would range between $47,600,000 and $47,800,000 and that the staff’s preferred scenario would raise the city appropriation by about 5.2% over FY26.
"Overall, the total budget ranges from $47,600,000 to $47,800,000," the budget presenter said during the committee briefing. Staff walked members through three scenarios: scenario A (the March 11 baseline) included about three FTE reductions and operational savings; scenario B added roughly one more FTE reduction and an athletics fee proposal; scenario C outlined deeper cuts that could remove about five positions, including special‑education roles, yielding an estimated $1.3 million in total reductions across the options.
The presenter told the committee that a large share of the district’s cost pressure this year comes from out‑of‑district placements and transportation: "5.9% of that was driven by out of district placements alone," she said, citing the contribution of residential and tuition‑driven costs to the level‑service budget.
Committee members pressed staff on assumptions that affect the final city ask. Members asked whether expected extraordinary relief for residential placements had been included; staff said they had conservatively estimated reimbursements and were submitting paperwork this week with an expected decision in April–May. On state aid, staff said the governor’s budget assumed $75 per pupil and cautioned that the legislature will determine final amounts.
During discussion, several members warned that lower appropriation targets would require cuts to programs or personnel. One member estimated a 3% target could result in as many as nine full‑time positions lost; another said special‑education cuts were especially risky. Vice Chair Higgins said she was "less comfortable getting into the special ed" reductions because the district is still rebuilding services.
Mayor (speaking to the committee) framed the city side of the tradeoffs: "we've still got a $700,000 gap that we've gotta think about," he said, noting that meeting a lower city target would force difficult choices on the municipal budget side as well.
The committee asked staff for more granular cost breakdowns (including athletics program revenues and operational costs) and directed staff to prepare the next iteration of the budget in advance of a public hearing scheduled for April 8 and final adoption targeted for April 29.
Next steps: staff will return with revised scenarios and requested cost breakdowns; the committee will hold a public budget hearing on April 8 and is scheduled to adopt the budget April 29.
