Braintree budget hearing: Superintendent outlines FY27 plan with $1M in personnel cuts and larger $2M funding gap

Committee of Ways and Means members heard from Braintree Public Schools leaders on Wednesday, May 13, as Superintendent Tim McDonald laid out the district's FY27 budget and the pressures forcing staffing reductions and program trade-offs.

"It's important to note that over 80% of our budget goes to personnel," McDonald said, explaining that negotiated salary increases (a 2.75% COLA plus many staff moving steps and lanes) and special education costs are the primary drivers of the gap. He said special education continues to represent about 40% of operating costs.

The superintendent said the proposed budget preserves current programming while making difficult staffing reductions totaling roughly $1 million in personnel savings. McDonald listed specific cuts: four elementary classroom teachers (including sections at Flaherty, Highlands, Liberty and Morrison), four general-education paraprofessionals, and four middle-school teaching positions, plus several fractional and program-specific changes. "Every effort was made to minimize the impact on classroom instruction," he said, but acknowledged many class sizes are expected to rise "from the high teens to the low 20s."

McDonald told the committee his district's level-service projection is about $2 million above the town's 3.5% sustainable-growth rate and that roughly $1 million of that gap will be covered by the recently created general-education stabilization fund; the other $1 million is addressed by the staffing reductions.

Council members pressed for detail about how reductions would be implemented and whether displaced staff would be reassigned rather than laid off. Councilor Sterling asked whether staff who received notices had been placed elsewhere; McDonald replied that some affected employees had opportunities to apply for other openings but principals retain hiring discretion. On reclassification of budget lines, school finance director Sarah Kaufman said some apparent decreases are accounting moves rather than service cuts.

The meeting also featured extensive questioning about long-term fiscal strategy, the potential savings and limits of closing an elementary school, and coordination between school and town finance offices. Town Finance Director Mike Esmonde and auditor Shawn McGoldrick described ongoing monthly coordination and cautioned that closures and capital decisions have operating budget and debt-service implications.

Next steps: the council will hold a public hearing on the complete town budget on May 26; the committee scheduled further budget hearings (finance, licensing) the next day. School leaders said they will provide requested charts, contract deliverables for the facilities master plan and clarifications on staffing impacts for committee review.