School committee votes to free $400,000 for three Lowell High student support specialists after budget debate; schedules special meeting to finalize restorals

The Lowell School Committee spent the bulk of its meeting reviewing quarter‑3 budget reports and debating the final FY27 budget package, ultimately approving a motion to cut specific line items to free about $400,000 so three student support specialist positions can be restored.

During discussion of the final FY27 bottom line ($287,966,413 to be submitted to the city manager), members questioned whether the committee had previously voted to restore six student support positions or only three. The superintendent explained that six positions had been placed in a suspense account earlier in the process, the high school requested that three of those be reallocated to restore fine‑arts and music teacher positions, and three remained in suspense for potential restoration.

To fund the three student support specialists the committee moved to cut $52,000 from line 40 (two part‑time positions), $100,000 from line 4 (school committee expenses) and $248,000 from line 5 (budget reconciliation) — a total the chair said would free $400,000. The motion was seconded and passed by roll call, 7–0. The superintendent asked for a brief recess so staff could confirm exact accounting before a final vote; members agreed to a short special meeting the following Monday at 5:30 p.m. to finalize the changes and allow hiring to proceed.

Public commenter Rose Mendonca, a longtime Lowell High teacher and counselor, urged restoring the separate enrollment counselor position at Lowell High School, saying that role is "vital" and that she had processed "over 465 new student enrollments" this year. Mendonca warned that eliminating a dedicated enrollment counselor risks repeating prior DESE findings about enrollment delays. The committee recorded the public comment and requested that the superintendent report back on how enrollment counselors will share knowledge if moved to other assignments.

The superintendent described the budget reconciliation line (line 5) as including an allowance in case federal Title I funding is reduced next year; staff said they were planning for a potential Title I reduction to 85% of current funding and had set aside funds to avoid midyear layoffs. The superintendent told the committee the district currently expects roughly $1,391,444 in that reconciliation line to cover anticipated Title I shortfalls and other adjustments and said roughly $11,000,000 in Title I funding is currently spent across district programs.

Committee members asked for clearer red‑line budget materials to compare before/after changes and for staff to outline exact transfers if positions are restored. The committee also accepted multiple superintendent reports (grades, grants and key performance indicators) and approved routine items such as minutes, permission to enter, and conference requests during the meeting.

The committee adjourned after scheduling the brief special meeting to finalize the budget changes and to provide the exact accounting that will finalize restorations and hiring steps.