Chelsea leaders say $2 million from city restores some positions; parents and teachers press for transparency as deeper cuts remain

Chelsea Public Schools leaders on March 19 said an extra $2 million from the city narrowed the district’s projected FY2027 deficit and allowed the district to restore several school-based positions — but parents and teachers told the school committee they still face substantial cuts and demanded clearer, earlier data.

“Many of you know already, the city was generous enough to give us another $2 million,” Superintendent Dr. Alboa told the committee, and she publicly thanked City Manager Fidel Maltz and City Council President Roberto Jimenez for the one‑time allocation. She warned the money “is being taken from other areas of the city and other projects,” and said the district would use the funds to reinstate some positions that had been proposed for elimination.

District slides presented at the meeting traced how enrollment declines — the district reported a loss of about 350 students on the Oct. 1 count — and rising costs produced a multi‑million dollar shortfall. “For every student that we have, we receive about $19,000,” a presenter said, and staff showed the deficit shrinking from earlier estimates (about $11.6 million–$13 million) to roughly $6.6 million after the city contribution.

Budget staff said they had targeted $4.8 million in school‑level reductions and $1.76 million at the district level; after the city funds some cuts were restored. Presenters said the restorations include 17 full‑time teacher positions, 6.5 paraprofessional FTE and one assistant principal at Chelsea Opportunity Academy, but that the district still expects a net reduction of about 57.5 teachers and paras combined in the coming year.

“That is the single biggest year reduction that we have ever had in Chelsea Public Schools history,” Katherine Anderson, a special education teacher and president of the Chelsea Teachers Union, said during public comment, urging the committee to continue searching the budget for district savings and to produce vendor and software spending lists to help community review.

Parents, students and staff across a long public‑comment period echoed calls for transparency and proportionality. “When you see parents missing from these meetings, do not mistake their absence for a lack of care,” Anna Vangas Rivera, a parent and community advocate, said, asking the district to adopt multilingual, accessible outreach and to publish data earlier in the process.

Several speakers warned that the $2 million is a one‑time infusion. “They gave us $2 million. That’s a one‑off this year,” parent Zachary Ryan said, urging the district and city to plan for a multi‑year solution so positions restored this year do not disappear next year if revenue keeps declining.

Committee members pressed staff to supply more granular evidence before the next meeting. Dr. Alboa agreed to circulate class‑size breakdowns (the district described an average ratio near 14:1 with wide variation by course and school) and to provide the organizational chart used to show who reports to whom and the central‑office responsibilities that commenters questioned.

Next steps: staff scheduled a remaining budget meeting for March 26 and committee members and the superintendent said they would post the org chart, class‑size data and updated budget documents to improve community understanding before any final action.

The meeting ended after committee business and a motion to adjourn.