By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The School Department is looking to receive a $31,302,455 operating budget for fiscal year 2025, Interim Superintendent Tom Geary said during the School Committee’s Feb. 27 meeting.
Geary said the recommended $31.3 million operating budget represents a 5.5 percent increase, totaling $1,645,907, over FY24’s $29,656,549 spending plan.
“This is a work in progress, but this is where we are at right now,” said Geary. “We are redirecting resources, as many as we can, into the classroom. That is our most important priority. I believe this budget recommendation has done the best we can to accomplish that.”
School Committee Chair Kate DePrizio agreed.
“This year, the School Committee is in full agreement that our focus is prioritizing and protecting the classroom,” said DePrizio. “All potential changes have been made thoughtfully with their impact on students, staff and our community at the forefront of our minds. Additionally, the School Committee has consulted staff and administration on any potential changes and their impacts.”
Geary has recommended adding four elementary school teachers and two paraprofessionals due to increasing enrollment in FY25. He said five sections of kindergarten will be offered at Summer Street School during the 2024-2025 academic year, which will result in two additional teachers and two paraprofessionals needing to be hired. There are currently three kindergarten classes at Summer Street.
Additionally, Geary is recommending adding a first grade teacher to Summer Street and a first grade teacher to Huckleberry Hill School for next year.
“Appropriate class size is a priority and will continue to be a priority for the administration and the committee,” said Geary.
Geary is also looking to address the school system’s Differentiated Learning Program (DLP) for special education students at Lynnfield Middle School and Huckleberry Hill. Both programs have experienced staffing challenges this year.
“After researching other districts, we have come up with a potential solution that is a partnership with the New England Center for Children (NECC),” said Geary. “They offer a contracted-option where they provide a certified teacher, board certified behavior analyst (BCBA) supports and consults, professional development for paraprofessionals in the classroom who would still be our paraprofessionals, and a specialized curriculum that we would have access to that they would bring in. Several other districts have used this model, and we have visited a district that uses this model. NECC has come in and has observed our programs. We believe this specialized model would be a win-win for staff, students and families. We owe it to all of our students to give them the best possible education.”
Huckleberry Hill School Principal Melissa Wyland and LMS Principal Stephen Ralston both told Geary, the School Committee and the meeting’s large number of attendees that they have worked one-on-one with students in their respective DLP Programs due to insufficient staff.
“Our DLP Program supports students primarily on the autism spectrum, but there are other students who require partial to substantially separate instruction and programming,” said Ralston. “Unfortunately, our lead teacher resigned around Thanksgiving. To date, we have been unable to have a lead teacher in that position. Most of my day is in the DLP classroom supporting our students and supporting our paraprofessionals. It has been an eye-opening and humbling experiencing for me this year. These students are absolute gems and are some of our most vulnerable learners.”
In response to a question from DePrizio, Ralston said he has spent 80 percent of his day working in the DLP Program this year.
Wyland has had a similar experience working in Huckleberry Hill’s DLP Program.
“Having the opportunity to support the DLP Program has been extremely inspiring,” said Wyland. “I have been touched by the students and families who I have worked with. However, like Stephen, over 90 percent of my time has been spent supporting that program for different needs. I don’t have an assistant principal, so that puts more pressure on my staff when I am not able to do other parts of my job as principal.”
Geary thanked Wyland and Ralston for working in their schools’ respective DLP classrooms this year.
School Committee Vice Chair Jamie Hayman asked how many students are enrolled in the two DLP Programs.
Wyland said there are six students enrolled in Huckleberry Hill’s DLP Program. Ralston said there are six students in LMS’ program.
Geary has also proposed hiring a district-wide BCBA position that would primarily be focused on the middle school. He also recommended adding a contractual part-time elementary school supervisor/evaluator support position for both elementary schools. He also proposed reinstating a stipend position for a Student Services Department head at Lynnfield High School. That position was combined with a similar position at LMS this academic year.
“High School Principal Patricia Puglisi and I met with the Special Education Department, and we heard their request to have leadership in their department,” said Geary. “I am recommending that we go back to the structure that we had in the past.”
Geary has also recommended reinstating multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) interventionists, formerly known as tutors, to both elementary schools and LMS.
“Those were reduced a couple of years ago, and we need to get them back to where they were,” said Geary. “These are regular education interventionists and not special education interventionists. They meet each student where they are at.”
Special education
Geary has budgeted $2,632,433 for special education out-of-district tuition and contractual services, which represents a $708,959 increase over FY24’s $1,923,474 appropriation.
“We pay tuition for students whose needs we cannot meet in the district,” said Geary. “There is no dispute that dollar amounts have increased significantly the last few years. Each out-of-district placement is warranted, and a team-based approach has been used for each special education placement. It results in a fair and appropriate education for each student. We have to meet students’ needs, and that is what we are striving for each student.”
Geary has also budgeted $541,346 for special education transportation, which is an $186,860 increase over FY24’s $354,846 allocation.
Reductions
In order to offset the cost of the additional classroom teachers and support staff needed in FY25, Geary has recommended seven staff reductions.
Geary recommended eliminating Lynnfield High School’s library media specialist position. A large number of the meeting’s attendees urged school officials to keep Janice Alpert as the high school’s library media specialist (see separate story).
In response to a question from DePrizio, Geary said a paraprofessional will be overseeing the LHS media center if Alpert’s position is eliminated.
Geary also said a special education teacher at the middle school is going to be eliminated as well as the LHS Athletic Department’s “game support staff and faculty manager stipends.”
The School Committee and Geary have also recommended eliminating five Central Office positions, including Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Kevin Cyr’s position at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 academic year.
“That will be based on a June 2025 contract expiration date,” said Geary. “However, the way we will do this is we will reduce funds from the superintendent’s salary line item that won’t be expended in order to realize this savings next year.”
Geary also proposed eliminating Nurse Coordinator Toni Rebelo’s position.
“We greatly appreciate the important work that she has done, but we believe we can return to a pre-COVID model next year,” said Geary.
Geary also proposed eliminating the Student Services assistant director job and the Technology Department’s desktop support and data manager positions.
“Make no mistake, all of these will cause pain,” said Geary about the cuts. “None of them were done lightly and it’s not pleasant. I don’t like it, but in order to add things, it has to come from somewhere. I would love to have everything, but it can’t be done realistically.”
Hayman concurred with Geary’s viewpoint.
“Nobody wants to cut positions,” said Hayman. “This is really hard.”
Capital budget
The School Department has requested a $350,000 capital budget for FY25.
Similar to previous years, Geary is requesting $250,000 for technology expenses such as Chromebooks, laptops, Smart flat panels, switches and access points.
“All of that helps keep us running,” said Geary.
Geary has requested $100,000 in order to have the seats in the LHS auditorium reupholstered.
“The seats are a disaster,” said Geary. “We are putting in a request to have them reupholstered and hopefully they will look better in the fall.”
Next steps
Geary said the recommended FY25 school budget will be presented to the Select Board on Monday, March 11. The School Committee will be holding a public hearing on the preliminary FY25 budget on Tuesday, March 12, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Al Merritt Media and Cultural Center. The Finance Committee will be discussing the proposed spending plan at a later date.
“We will go through our process with the town as we do each year,” said Geary. “The goal is to arrive at a number that is agreeable to everybody.”