By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Superintendent Tom Geary gave an overview of the school district’s proposed 11 percent spending increase for fiscal year 2026 during the Finance Committee’s March 19 meeting at Central Office.
The meeting featured a large crowd of parents and residents as well as representatives from the Lynnfield Teachers Association’s (LTA) Units A, B and C. All five School Committee members attended the meeting as well.
Geary recalled that the recommended $34,196,514 operating budget for FY26 is an 11 percent increase over FY25’s $30,806,245 appropriation. Due to a $4 million budget shortfall for FY26 and the School Department needing $1 million for technology expenses, Town Administrator Rob Dolan has recommended that a $5 million Proposition 2 ½ override be approved at Spring Town Meeting on Tuesday, April 29.
“It includes estimated funding for union and non-union compensation,” said Geary about the proposed school budget. “As we move forward, future budget needs would be about 4 percent each year. It would be difficult for us to go under that number.”
Geary explained in an email sent to the Villager why the School Department would need 4 percent budget increases moving forward if voters approve the Proposition 2 ½ override.
“Based on projections that I have calculated, I would anticipate that we need a 4 percent increase in the next couple of years if the override passes,” stated Geary. “This is based on current budget assumptions, including collective bargaining, special education and other district needs that could change as we get closer to those years. The budget process is always fluid, but that would be my projection as of today based on the current available information.”
Geary said during the Finance Committee’s meeting that the School Committee is currently in collective bargaining negotiations with the LTA.
“It’s going well, but I am not going to go too deep into how negotiations are going,” said Geary.
Geary said there are no new positions included in the proposed FY26 school budget.
“A couple of weeks ago, I was told we would need to reduce our budget ask between $2.5 million and $3 million if the override does not pass,” said Geary. “In the last few days, I was told it would be greater than that. The schools would get a zero percent increase, which would add at least another $1 million. It would result in massive layoffs that would greatly damage our efforts to provide a high-quality educational experience for our students. There is no way around it.”
Finance Committee member Brian Moreira recalled that Geary and the Administrative Leadership Team discussed adding positions in FY26, but those positions were not funded. He asked which positions were “critical” and what is the plan to fund those positions.
“I understand and I know that the School Committee understands the fiscal realities that we are dealing with,” said Geary. “There are a lot of departments in town having layoffs and having cuts. We are a part of the town, and I get we are the biggest budget. It would be irresponsible right now to add positions when much of the town is laying people off. I would love to add more than anything. I recognize the needs and I know where they are, but this is the fiscal reality of where we are at.”
Moreira noted that Select Board Chair Dick Dalton recently said there should be no subsequent overrides in future years if voters approve the $5 million plan this spring.
“Does that give you pause in terms of what the district needs in those resource requests and how they may not get fulfilled for years to come?” Moreira asked.
Geary said municipal finance is “tricky.”
“Year-to-year, we don’t know what is going to happen in our budget,” said Geary. “Health insurance is through the moon right now. We are hoping that comes back to reality. If we can get 4.5 percent some year, I think that is when you can have some things break your way. I love long-term planning and capital planning, but unfortunately there is a degree with municipal finance that is year-to-year. You don’t know what state funding is going to be, what your own funding is going to be and what benefits are going to be. There are a lot of X-factors.”
School Committee Chair Kristen Grieco Elworthy said Lynnfield High School has been able to add electives and Advanced Placement (AP) courses the past couple of years even though other positions have been eliminated. She said school officials were forced to make reductions the last few years due to budgetary constraints.
“From my personal point of view, not adding positions does not damage the district,” said Elworthy. “What damages the district is if we go up to class sizes of 25 students. Adding some of these resources would help grow the district. From my perspective, that is a very difficult ask to make when we are in the middle of an override.”
Geary has budgeted $2.9 million for special education out-of-district tuition. He has budgeted $662,000 for special education transportation.
“Statewide, out-of-district costs have increased 35 percent in the last decade,” said Geary. “Last year alone, tuitions increased 14 percent. We have zero control over this. The state sets the rates, and we ended up absorbing whatever we are given. Transportation costs are no different.”
Geary recalled that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Circuit Breaker Program provides financial assistance to public school districts for special education students who are placed outside of a public school system.
“After the first $53,000, we are reimbursed 75 cents on every dollar,” said Geary. “That reimbursement takes place a year in the rears. We are also at the mercy of what the state will reimburse based on the available funds they have.”
Finance Committee Chair Tom Kayola said the School Department’s special education out-of-district costs have increased 25 percent over the past four years. He asked Geary if he anticipates that cost will continue increasing in the future.
While Geary believes special education costs will continue growing, he is “hopeful it is not at a 25 percent rate.” He said the School Department is open to adding programs in order to “mitigate” potential increases, which he said has occurred in the past.
“We will have a new director starting in July, but she is not going to be an immediate miracle worker,” added Geary. “I do expect her to assess where we are at with things. We are not sending kids out willy-nilly. It is the last resort when we do. It is 25 out of 2,200 kids.”
Kayola said if special education out-of-district costs continue to increase by 25 percent annually, he said, “right out of the gate, your budget is going to increase by 2.5 percent every year.” He suggested that school officials consider developing more in-district programs.
“We have to be creative or that is going to continue to blow up your budget no matter what you do to control expenses,” said Kayola.
Geary agreed.
“We are not the only ones dealing with it,” said Geary. “It’s not an issue sole to Lynnfield.”
Kayola asked Geary if school officials have discussed “revenue offsets” such as bus fees and sponsorships.
“We have talked about all of those,” said Geary. “We haven’t finalized anything, but the discussions have happened and they are ongoing.”
Elworthy said the School Committee would need to vote on approving fees and sponsorships.
“There is a situation here where possibly everything goes on the table if the override fails,” said Elworthy. “We also have some uncertainty on the teachers’ contract at this point. I think we do need to look at those fees, but we also need certainty on the budget.”
Finance Committee member Gene Covino encouraged school officials to consider implementing fees or pursuing sponsorship opportunities.
“Whether there is an override or not, we need to make the most responsible financial decisions,” said Covino.
School Committee Vice Chair Jenny Sheehan said school officials will have discussions about sponsorships and fees “down the road.”
Geary said the School Department has requested a $650,000 capital budget for FY26. The proposed $5 million Proposition 2 ½ override would give the district a one-time $1 million payment that would be used for school technology.
Moreira asked if the $250,000 that the school system has traditionally received in the town’s annual capital budget will suffice in future years.
“I don’t think we will need $650,000 going forward, but I don’t believe $250,000 is enough,” said Geary. “I believe between $350,000 and $400,000 annually is the likely range.”
Covino suggested that school officials consider renting Chromebooks instead of purchasing them for students.
“We are looking into it, but I am not making any commitments which way we would go,” said Geary.
Covino pressed Geary on the issue.
“Isn’t this the time we should be making a decision?” Covino asked.
Geary said leasing Chromebooks does not include “all of the warrantees.”
Public participation
Patrice Lane resident Pat Campbell asked when the line items for teacher salaries will be made available to the public. Moreira asked a similar question earlier in the meeting.
“(The School Committee) has been advised that they cannot break out the line items while they are in negotiations,” said Kayola. “We won’t be able to break out the line items by school for the salary requests until they have the contracts signed.”
Elworthy said the Massachusetts Association of Schools (MASC) has advised the Lynnfield School Committee to “make an estimate at this point of where we believe we may end up.”
“That is the best we can do,” said Elworthy. “That is about as much as we can say due to bargaining.”
While Campbell said she understood Elworthy’s perspective, she asked if the line items will be available by Spring Town Meeting on Tuesday, April 29.
“Not necessarily,” said Kayola. “We don’t know when the contracts will be executed.”
Lynnfield High clerk Jacqueline Comeau asked the Finance Committee if the companies they work for would be interested in supporting the schools by funding sponsorship opportunities.
Finance Committee Vice Chair Nick Connors said the School Committee would need to approve a sponsorship policy before anything moves forward.
“It is something they want to spend time studying to see what works well for them,” said Connors.
Kayola concurred with Connors’ viewpoint.
“For some of the firms that we work in, there are lines that need to be drawn between what we are doing in our day jobs and what we are doing in our volunteer life,” said Kayola. “I think there are plenty of opportunities for sponsorships if the policy gets put in place.”
Elworthy said the school board will create a policy for sponsorships if there are any companies interested.