By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — A number of residents weighed in on the proposed 11 percent school budget increase and $650,000 capital budget for fiscal year 2026 during a public hearing held on March 25.
Superintendent Tom Geary has recommended a $34,196,514 operating budget for FY26, which equals an 11 percent increase over FY25’s $30,806,245 appropriation. In the wake of the town facing 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. If Spring Town Meeting approves sending the override to a townwide ballot vote, a Special Town Election will take place on Wednesday, June 4.
Merservey Lane resident Stephen Sorrentino asked a variety of questions about the $2.9 million for special education out-of-district tuition included in the proposed operating budget for FY26. He also asked Geary, “Do you anticipate any budget cuts at the federal level as they dismantle the Department of Education, and do you see that trickling down here to the town of Lynnfield?”
“I can’t predict what is going to happen in Washington,” said Geary. “The state has always done its best to really fund education. I think they would work very hard to fund our highest need learners. That would be what would come from IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). I obviously wouldn’t make any promises and we are ready for anything, but I think the state would work very hard to make that a primary area that they fund if there are reductions from Washington.”
School Committee member Jamie Hayman said less than 7 percent of Lynnfield students are placed outside of the school system, which he said is “lower than most districts around here.”
“How we fund special education in this country is fundamentally broken, and has been for years and years,” said Hayman. “Unfortunately, it is not something we can fix at the Lynnfield level. I would love to be able to. The fact of the matter is we have a legal and moral obligation to educate all of these students, and give them the best possible education. And in some cases, that is not going to be in this district.”
Katie Hogan said she has a kindergartner and a third-grader attending Huckleberry Hill School.
“I am in support of the budget override increase as I have seen firsthand how the teachers and interventionists can make a difference,” said Hogan. “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. I know that the teachers, staff and admin approach each child with the same amount of attention and care. My third-grader loves to learn. He loves to learn because the teachers care. They make it fun for our children and support their interests. If we lose teachers because the override fails, we lose the opportunity to make learning fun for our children. Our children are our future. We owe it to them to support the override to continue to make learning fun.”
Putney Lane resident Suzie Herold also said she supports the override.
“My family moved here from Revere in 2021,” said Herold. “We chose this town because it is an elite public school system and we believe in public school education. I am in support of the override for many reasons. If we don’t approve the override, we are doing such an incredible disservice to this community. Last year, we were here in the wake of the superintendent issues talking about we can’t have larger class sizes, need more morale within the school system and things needed to approve. It’s not just approving the override. If we don’t, we lose critical resources for our students. We can’t lose five teachers at Huckleberry. We cannot lose paraprofessionals in kindergarten classrooms. It’s not what we would gain from the override, but what we lose if we don’t. If you have a $1 million house, a thousand bucks a year is not a really heavy lift. It is something that is affordable for this town, and the costs just outweigh the benefits so significantly. While it seems like a lot of money, this is an affordable solution. If we don’t do it, it would be catastrophic for the school system.”
Olde Towne Road resident Jessica Logrippo said she supports the proposed school budget and the override.
“Adequate funding is essential in ensuring our schools continue to provide quality resources, maintain smaller class sizes, offer specialized programs and ensure staffing levels that meet the needs of all students,” said Logrippo. “I moved back to Lynnfield to raise my family because I wanted my children to have the same experience and the same outstanding education I had growing up here. The schools are the heart of Lynnfield, and it’s the sense of community and support that make our town such a special place. As an educator, I want to emphasize the importance of supporting the proposed budget and override. The failure to adequately fund education will lead to higher costs in the future if student needs go unmet. Without this support, we risk the very foundation of our education system. The consequences of these gaps will be felt not only by the students, but also the district and the town, as the cost to address these issues further down the road will far out way the investment we are being asked to make now. I urge the committee and the community to support the proposed budget and the override. Investing in our schools is an investment in the future of our children and the continued strength of our community.”
Forest Hill Avenue resident Claire Barden said the proposed $5 million override “seems to be becoming polarized, where support for the override is akin to support for children, and any questions or concerns about the override in this specific proposal is tantamount to not supporting the schools.”
“I just really want to encourage everybody to avoid that polarity,” said Barden. “It’s not accurate, and it can potentially be harmful and divisive. It can make citizens weary about asking legitimate and reasonable budget questions for fear as being characterized as anti-school. Therefore, it can suppress participation and valuable thoughts and ideas might never come to light. It also has the potential to divide our community at a time we should be collaborating on these tough issues through healthy respectful discussion and debate. It is certainly possible to be pro-school and undecided on this current proposal as it is currently written or needing more information in order to make a decision.”
Barden asked where the town’s $4 million deficit originated.
Geary recalled that the School Committee is currently in collective bargaining negotiations with the Lynnfield Teachers Association (LTA).
“We have to collectively agree to contracts with our staff,” said Geary. “In addition, there is some technology asks that we have in both capital and in annual numbers as well as special education costs.”
School Committee Chair Kristen Grieco Elworthy said the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) recently approved a 13 percent increase for health insurance in FY26.
“Health insurance increases are a major driver for this override for the town,” said Elworthy. “Many of those are school employees.”
Barden asked, “These problems didn’t just appear, right?”
“I would disagree with that characterization,” said Geary in response. “Speaking of collective bargaining, there is going to be an adjustment to salaries. That didn’t happen last year.”
Barden asked if the anticipated raise LTA members will be receiving was “foreseeable.”
“In municipal finance, you plan for the year,” said Geary. “We cut a lot of things last year to make a number work to get through last year.”
Barden said the $1 million for technology expenses shouldn’t be in the override and it should be a debt exclusion instead.
“When you put it in the override, you are essentially saying that you need that every year,” said Barden.
Elworthy said the technology plan would give the School Department $650,000 for the first year and $350,000 for the second year. She said that Barden should ask Town Administrator Rob Dolan and the Select Board how the $1 million would be used after it is incorporated into the tax levy.
After the $1 million included in the technology plan is spent, Dolan informed the Villager that the $1 million would be used to cover the cost of two firefighters that are currently being funded by a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant, the Department of Public Works’ next trash collection contract and the second and third years of the next teachers’ contract.
Barden said during the meeting that it is “not fair or accurate to say it is this proposal or nothing.” After Geary presented the recommended FY26 operating and capital budgets for the district on March 11, Barden said, “there has been little time to consider or provide feedback.” She said Winchester Public Schools’ level-services budget was announced in January.
“They specified tier 1 recommendations, tier 2 recommendations and then conducted a survey of the town, educators and families,” said Barden. “They discussed all of that and had time to incorporate that survey feedback. I think there were over 600 survey responses. They had a long runway to really massage this out, and you are voting tonight.”
While Barden said she wants to “get to a number that will pass,” she said, “There are more than two paths forward.”
“There is this override for $5 million and there is not passing the override of course,” said Barden. “There is a third pathway, which is another number. And there is no limit to what that other number could be. Lynnfield is going to be okay and we will figure this out together. I think collaboration is the way forward.”
Candlewood Road resident Paul Briggs expressed concerns about the way the override is structured.
“The way that the town is approaching this potentially jeopardizes what the schools want to accomplish,” said Briggs. “The town is asking us for $1 million toward your technology ask in an annual tax levy that is perpetual. They will get another $1 million and then next year they will get another $1 million. If I were you, I would be communicating with the town. I realize that they control all of this, but it is sort of saying you guys are asking for $1 million every year and you are not. I worry that jeopardizes what we are trying to accomplish with the schools. That is a source of confusion, and I would hate for that to be something that further deterred people from supporting the override.”
Elworthy said Dolan and the Select Board could answer Briggs’ question in “more detail.”