Lawrence Public Schools proposes $319.6 million FY27 budget amid enrollment losses and city funding gaps

Lawrence Public Schools officials on May 27 presented a proposed FY27 school appropriation of $319,642,948 and told the School Committee and residents the budget seeks to sustain core instruction while making targeted investments in special education and multilingual programs.

The district’s chief financial officer, Jason Cabrera, said the proposal relies on roughly $332 million in Chapter 70 state aid, a $17.1 million local contribution and about $21.6 million in state and federal grants. "The appropriation that we're seeking is 319,642,948," Cabrera said during the presentation.

Why it matters: Cabrera and other district leaders warned that enrollment declines and uneven city funding could force program or service tradeoffs. Cabrera said the district lost 358 students between last October and this year, which he estimated equates to "somewhere between seven and a half and $8 million" in lost revenue. He also flagged a $2,191,785 difference between the district’s request and the city manager’s recommended budget, driven mainly by transportation and lease line items the city is funding at lower levels than requested.

Context and major lines: The CFO said the district expects about $332.2 million in state Chapter 70 aid, $57.1 million under the Student Opportunity Act (SOA) earmarked for high‑need kids, $17.1 million from the city and $13 million in school lunch reimbursements. Cabrera said SOA is currently scheduled to expire and called it essential for Lawrence, which receives a large SOA allocation: "If we are not able to work with the legislature to lobby about changing the funding formula, that would be a tremendous impact for us" he said.

Cost pressures and investments: Salaries and benefits make up about three‑quarters of the proposed spending; the CFO identified several drivers of higher costs, including negotiated salary increases (the district cited multi‑year teacher contract increases), rising health insurance and utility costs, transportation contract increases and out‑of‑district special education tuition. At the same time, the budget proposes increases in services for English‑language learners (the multilingual department allocation rises to $5.1 million) and inclusive special‑education services (the budgeted increase from $29.7 million this year to $38.3 million next year).

The superintendent and CFO described major, targeted investments in professional development and school quality supports. Cabrera and the superintendent said the district will contract with vendors and consultants for concentrated PD, including an English‑learner certification program they referred to as QELL, which Cabrera characterized as "to the tune of about $2.5 million." They estimated the district’s overall contracted PD investments could exceed roughly $7 million.

Tradeoffs and reclassifications: Committee members pressed staff on line‑item changes they said made the published budget harder to read. Cabrera said some dollars previously carried in central offices were moved to program owners (for example, tuition reimbursement and professional development funds moved into HR or school lines) so spending could be tracked where the work actually occurs. He said some apparent reductions—such as lower supply line items—reflect reallocation decisions tied to enrollment and prioritized personnel costs.

Transportation and leases: The proposal asks the city for about $13.45 million for transportation and roughly $1.98 million for long‑term leases; the city’s recommended funding is lower (about $11.76 million for transportation and $543,245 for leases). Cabrera said those differences (about $2.19 million total) will be discussed at the district’s June 8 appearance before the City Council and warned that if municipal funds are not approved the district may need to locate students differently or make other operational changes.

Staffing, vacancies and right‑sizing: The CFO said the district continues to hire and reported about 122 current vacancies. He described a "right‑sizing" effort—moving teachers and paraprofessionals to match student placement (for example, when whole grade reconfigurations move students and their positions between schools). The district also noted a significant recent increase in paraprofessionals and crisis aids tied to growing special‑education caseloads.

Public input and next steps: Two community residents spoke during the public comment portion, one urging strong teacher compensation and support. After the public hearing portion was adjourned by unanimous roll call, the CFO led an extended School Committee Q&A about line‑item detail and transparency. The district will present the appropriation to the City Council on June 8.

What’s next: The School Committee and district leaders said unresolved items—most prominently transportation and leases—will be the focus of the June 8 city budget hearing. The district asked the public to review the budget book and said it will provide additional school‑by‑school details and variance columns in the volume two budget materials referenced during the meeting.