THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE and Superintendent Tom Geary (center) had a lengthy discussion on March 11 about the “massive layoffs” that would occur if a Proposition 2 ½ override does not pass later this spring.
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The school system will be forced to lay off a large number of teachers, paraprofessionals and support staff if a Proposition 2 ½ override does not pass later this spring, Superintendent Tom Geary said during the School Committee’s March 11 meeting.
Geary is recommending a $34,196,514 operating budget for fiscal year 2026, which represents an 11 percent increase over FY25’s $30,806,245 appropriation. He recalled that the district’s spending plan totaled a 7.8 percent increase when he provided an update on the budget development process in late January.
School Committee Chair Kristen Grieco Elworthy said school officials have been collaborating with town officials “over the past several months to make sure that they are very aware of our district’s financial needs.” She said school officials were recently “made aware that the town is in need of an operating budget override at the same time as we are to meet their own obligations.”
“The drivers on the school side for this year’s budget are increased special needs education costs, an attempt to remain competitive with staff and teacher compensation as a district on the North Shore and having an educational technology budget that will give all of our students equal access to learning opportunities,” said Elworthy, who serves on the Budget Subcommittee. “Our responsibility at this point, working with our superintendent and the staff in Lynnfield, is to maintain the excellence that we have here. I personally feel that the proposed budget will allow us to do that.”
School Committee Vice Chair Jenny Sheehan, who serves on the Budget Subcommittee with Elworthy, agreed.
“We are very pleased with the collaboration from the town and the Administrative Leadership Team as we have been navigating this unique budget cycle,” said Sheehan. “The needs of our district are real and need to be met. These discussions with town officials have been very productive this far. We recognize that the town also has their own separate needs from the schools from what they are proposing, which also can be met with a budget override.”
Geary said the proposed 11 percent school budget increase for FY26 would “preserve the current high-quality educational experience for all students.”
“We are doing great things in our schools, and this will allow us to continue on that path,” said Geary. “The impact of no override would be nothing short of catastrophic for this district. We have a chance to protect what I believe is the crown jewel of our town. This funding source is the way to do it. An override is not a blank check. We have to balance fiscal responsibility and an obligation to all of our residents as we move through this process. We want to maintain excellence, but not necessarily expand greatly. It is not a wild spending spree. It is a path to keep us moving forward as we are now.”
If the override does not pass, Geary informed the Villager that 23 teachers and 15 paraprofessionals will be laid off.
“It would also eliminate all of our interventionists who work part-time at the elementary and middle schools,” Geary stated in an email.
Geary said during the School Committee’s meeting that the district would be forced to reduce the FY26 operating budget by “at least” $2.5 million to $3 million if voters don’t approve the override.
“There would be massive layoffs that would greatly damage our ability to provide a high-quality educational experience for our students,” said Geary. “I feel that I have been vocally sounding the financial alarm of concern to anyone who would listen for at least the past couple of years if not more. I have said it to School Committees, I have said it to Finance Committees, I have said it to the Select Board and I have said it to the town administrator. This day was coming, and it is not a surprise. The shell game of moving things around just to get to the next fiscal year cannot continue. We are at the point where it cannot continue. This is 10 percent of our operating budget, and potentially more. There aren’t enough paper clips, pencils, crayons or anything else to reduce to get out of this. It is people. There is no way around it.”
Geary gave a breakdown of the staff reductions that would occur if the override does not pass:
Huckleberry Hill
• Five classroom teachers
• Four kindergarten paraprofessionals
• All interventionists
• One special education paraprofessional
Summer Street/Lynnfield Preschool
• Five classroom teachers
• Four kindergarten paraprofessionals
• All interventionists
• One special education paraprofessional
• Two preschool paraprofessionals
Lynnfield Middle School
• Eight classroom teachers
• All interventionists
• One special education paraprofessional
Lynnfield High School
• Five classroom teachers
• Two paraprofessionals
• Athletics and extracurricular activities would also be reduced.
Additionally, Geary said class sizes would increase at all four schools if the override does not pass.
“Massive layoffs will make it nearly impossible to provide a high-quality educational experience for our students,” said Geary.
Geary explained why the school budget increased from 7.8 percent in late January to 11 percent in early March. In addition to the proposed $650,000 capital budget for technology expenses, he said there are costs such as subscriptions and upgrades that will not be funded by the capital budget. He also noted that the School Committee and the Lynnfield Teachers Association (LTA) “were very early in our collective bargaining process” on Jan. 28.
“Most proposals hadn’t been exchanged,” said Geary. “As with anything else, the further along you get in the process, the more clarity you have in terms of estimates. The same could be said for special education. This is the season for referrals. Most of them happen in the spring.”
Geary has budgeted $2.9 million for special education out-of-district tuition. He informed the Villager that he has budgeted $662,000 for special education transportation.
“I want to be clear that it is a legal obligation, but more importantly it is a moral obligation to provide for every single student what they need for a free and appropriate public education,” said Geary during the School Committee’s meeting. “With that said, financially special education statewide is a broken system. It has been that way for a long time and it is far more than a Lynnfield problem. We try to be proactive with our solutions and recommendations in this area. We build programming, and we do preemptive services for students in need. If a student has a prior placement and they move to town, we own that placement and do what is right by the student. But if we can’t provide a free and appropriate education, we have to look at outside options. We are not the only district dealing with this.”
School Committee member Jamie Hayman concurred with Geary’s viewpoint.
“It is a fundamentally broken system how we fund special education in this country,” said Hayman. “With that being said, we are not going to fix it in FY26 in the Lynnfield Public Schools for what is a national problem. I think it is really important that the public recognize we have more than doubled the cost for out-of-district tuition since FY22. In four years, we will have gone from just under $1 million to just under $3 million. Lynnfield continues to be below average in terms of the percentage of our students that we are sending out-of-district for special education. It is only when it is necessary. The challenging part of this budget that I see is it’s very necessary for kids, and it is becoming increasingly expensive at a rate that is even more than eggs at this point.”
In addition to the proposed $34,196,514 operating budget for FY26, Geary is requesting a $650,000 capital budget for school technology due to infrastructure and hardware needs.
Sheehan said the School Committee recently did “a tech walkthrough at our elementary schools.”
“After that walkthrough, I think we all believe strongly of the importance of technology in our district and in our classrooms,” said Sheehan. “It’s important to give these students these tools.”
Elworthy said townspeople are facing “two different paths” with the override.
“This override is not in the hands of the School Committee and it is not in the hands of the Select Board,” said Elworthy. “Ultimately, it is in the hands of voters at Town Meeting and again at the ballot.”
School Committee member Kate DePrizio encouraged residents to reach out to the committee, Geary, the Select Board and the Finance Committee to learn more about the proposed override. She also commended Geary’s work with developing the FY26 school budget.
Hayman said it is “no secret that I have been very critical of the budget process.”
“I own that,” said Hayman. “I think it is really important that people understand this is not hyperbole. This alternative is just not acceptable. We are talking about cutting literally dozens of teachers, and that has an impact on everyone in this community from the quality of their education to even down to property values. This is real and we all need to get behind this. I don’t want these cuts. Our kids deserve better than these cuts. I think our kids deserve what we have continued to deliver for decades, which is some of the best education on the North Shore.”
Hayman said the one-to-one Chromebook initiative at the elementary schools is “being well utilized.” However, he suggested that Geary and the School Committee examine ways to potentially reduce the proposed $650,000 capital budget for technology.
“If there are ways to get even a $100,000 off of this, I think it shows a commitment to the town that we are doing the best that we can,” said Hayman.
School Committee member Jim Dillon expressed his support for the recommended school budget and the override.
“We do stand for excellence in education, and we have for the 58 years that I have lived in this town,” said Dillon. “It matters to who we are and what we believe in. If we don’t support this, it is going to make a radical change in our educational system for the worst. This is not adding a lot of unnecessary things to the School Department. This is just to maintain the excellence that we have. We need to maintain who we are as Lynnfield and who we have always been as Lynnfield. If this doesn’t pass, we are not going to be that anymore. We would be something different. Hopefully the town will support it.”
Hayman also said voting in favor of the override would support the “great teachers in this district.”
“Our teachers work hard, are reasonable and are good educators, but I would argue they are even better people,” said Hayman. “This is just as much of a fight for our teachers as it is for our students. I think our teachers are worth fighting for.”
The School Committee will be holding a public hearing on the FY26 operating budget on Tuesday, March 25, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Al Merritt Media and Cultural Center.