Everett School Committee advances $145.4 million FY2027 budget after discussion of enrollment decline and chargeback savings

The Everett School Committee’s budget committee voted unanimously April 16 to refer a proposed $145,395,399 fiscal year 2027 budget to the full school committee on April 28 after a multi-hour presentation and discussion about enrollment declines, program preservation and cost-saving measures.

Assistant Superintendent for Finance Chris Barrett told the committee the proposed operating budget reflects a 2.28% increase over FY26 while noting fiscal pressure from an enrollment decline that reduced Chapter 70 state aid. "At that point, we reported to the Commonwealth 6,98[?] students," Barrett said, adding the district recorded a decrease of 339 students compared with the prior year. Barrett said the enrollment loss materially reduced state funding and required careful offsets.

Barrett credited the mayor and city officials with a memorandum-of-understanding that froze the school chargeback at $36 million, a choice he said saved about $5 million versus earlier estimates and allowed the district to avoid deeper classroom cuts. "Every dollar stricken from our chargeback line is being directed back to our classrooms," Barrett said. Mayor Vancampen and other members praised that collaboration as pivotal to preserving roughly 48 staff positions.

Superintendent Hart framed the budget as a student-centered plan that preserves core instructional services and new initiatives. He highlighted district gains on the state accountability metric the transcript references as "DESIE," noting improvement from 37% in 2023 to 61% in the most recent reporting and daily attendance rising to about 92%. Hart also described program expansions in FY27: two new Chapter 74 career-and-technical programs (multimedia production/broadcast and public safety), the district’s first full‑day prekindergarten option and a Spanish–Portuguese dual immersion program.

Special education was a major cost driver. Barrett said special‑education expenses increased about 18%, driven primarily by a revised Stepping Stones contract for speech, occupational and physical therapy services. Barrett said the new contract — about $3.8 million — will supply 39 contracted staff and yield roughly $0.5 million in savings compared with hiring the same staff directly. When asked to explain the program, a Stepping Stones representative told the committee the contract ties services to students’ IEPs and includes professional development for teachers.

The presentation described $3.4 million in savings found by repurposing funds and not filling vacancies, targeted curriculum reductions where existing materials can be used for an additional year, and a net reduction of roughly 35 district staff positions from FY26. Barrett emphasized that many eliminated lines were vacant and that reductions were concentrated away from direct classroom instruction where possible.

Committee members pressed for operational detail on several items. On substitutes, Barrett and other speakers described a shift from permanent in‑building substitutes to an expanded daily substitute pool and a $150,000 increase to support daily subs, relying on a flexible roster of retired and daily‑rate substitutes to ensure classrooms are covered. On translation and interpretation, the district said it will pilot a real‑time translation technology for the public stream and reassign staff to provide evening interpretation in the district’s primary languages, rather than renewing a $64,000 contract with an outside service that had low usage.

Barrett also walked through school‑by‑school staffing adjustments: Adams gained a position for English‑learner services in special education; Webster extension reduced five positions while adding special‑education staffing; several K–8 schools reallocated paraprofessionals and moved positions to grants to save roughly $440,000. At Everett High School, the district reclassified several deans as 12‑month assistant principals to strengthen operations; Barrett said some administrative line shifts were offset elsewhere in the budget.

The committee made a series of procedural motions during the meeting, including inviting Barrett’s finance team to present and a 10‑minute recess; both motions passed on roll call. The final motion — to accept the FY27 budget recommendation and refer it to the full school committee on April 28, 2026 — passed unanimously on roll call (9–0).

The budget book and presentation contain numerical detail about the district’s general ledger and out‑of‑operating items (for example, special‑education transportation accounted for separately). Barrett said the FY27 proposal seeks to avoid program cuts while matching contractual obligations and controlling new position requests. Hart said the district will convene an external stakeholder‑led strategic‑planning group this spring to inform multi‑year fiscal and program planning.

Next steps: the budget committee referred the FY27 proposal to the full school committee for a public hearing and a committee vote scheduled April 28, 2026; if approved there, the budget will move to City Council for final action.