Residents voiced their support for and asked questions about the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget at last Tuesday’s School Committee public hearing.
The School Committee also unanimously voted to approve the FY26 operations budget of $34,196,514 and the capital budget, which is being used to upgrade the district’s technology, of $650,000.
In the full town budget presentation from Town Administrator Rob Dolan on March 20, he said the schools will receive a $3,388,698 increase to restore its budget if the override passes, and will not receive any increase if the override does not pass.
“I’m in support of the budget override increase as I have seen firsthand how the teachers and interventionists can make a difference,” resident Katie Hogan said at the hearing. “My daughter is in kindergarten and has been receiving help for literacy since January and math more recently. I have seen such a massive difference in three short months, and it is all because of the care and attention she is receiving.”
According to superintendent Tom Geary’s budget presentation on March 11, every interventionist working in the district schools would be laid off if the override failed to pass, along with 23 classroom teachers and 15 paraprofessionals.
Hogan, who said her family moved to Lynnfield almost six years ago because of the town’s schools, listed six other families who couldn’t make it to the meeting but also backed the override for similar reasons.
“I deeply appreciate the work that has gone into crafting the proposed budget and the discussion surrounding the override. I’m here tonight to say I fully support both the budget and the override,” resident Jessica Logrippo said. “The schools are the heart of Lynnfield and it’s the sense of community and support that makes our town such a special place… Without the support, we risk the very foundation of our education system.”
Logrippo, herself an educator, echoed other public comments by emphasizing the importance of an override for maintaining the quality staffing parents and students have come to expect at Lynnfield schools, garnering applause from the meeting attendants.
In a lengthy and nuanced comment, resident Claire Barden observed how the discussion has seemed to become polarized, where those who have questions or concerns about the override in its current state are characterized as not supporting schools.
“I really want to encourage everybody to avoid that polarity… it’s not accurate and it can potentially become harmful and divisive,” she said. “I wanted to highlight there’s a lot of complexity and nuance here that’s missed if we overly simplify it. It’s certainly possible to be both pro-school and undecided on this proposal as it’s currently written, or needing more information in order to make a decision.”
To that end, Barden asked if the School Committee could share school spending budgeted against actual spending for the past five years including 2019 to show financials in a non-COVID year.
“In order for me to form an opinion on the override, I would like to know how the board has managed the money in years prior,” Barden said. “I think it would help citizens have a lot more confidence to have those numbers when they’re evaluating the current proposal.”
She entered into a discussion with Geary about how the school manages capital and debt, asking how much is set aside for forecasted expenses.
“For the past 15 years, we’ve received $250,000 for technology every year, with the exception of this year where we received $145,000. I think that’s part of where we’re trying to catch up now,” Geary said. “It hasn’t been enough. Nothing costs the same as it did 15 years ago, and we’ve tried to manage it in that way… What we can project and what we receive, sometimes are two different things”
Barden also brought up the $1,000,000 included in the override that will go towards upgrading school technology over the next two years.
“I’m confused on that because I think that a capital expense like technology upgrades shouldn’t be in the override, because when you put it in the override, you’re essentially saying you need it every year,” she said.
Town Administrator Rob Dolan told Item this question about the $1,000,000 is one of the most frequently asked questions he has been getting.
“That’s for the four things. Technology, which the school asked for. $1,200,000 for the firefighters, $800,000 to a million for the trash, and then making sure we have enough to absorb contrast in years two and three,” Dolan explained.
With the school’s FY26 budget now being passed by the School Committee, the next step is getting the overall town budget passed by the Select Board and Finance Committee before it goes to Town Meeting on Tuesday, Apr. 29.
