By NEIL ZOLOT
WAKEFIELD – Subcommittees of the School Committee and Finance Committee met for a budget workshop in a Galvin Middle School classroom Saturday morning, March 22. It was a chance for the Finance Committee’s School Subcommittee to hear about the proposed Fiscal 2026 School Department budget from the School Committee’s Finance and Facilities Subcommittee.
“We’re not deliberating, but this is a great opportunity to air things out and ask questions,” Finance Subcommittee Chairman Brian Cusack told the others present. “We need this kind of interaction.”
“It’s an opportunity to learn from each other,” the School Subcommittee Chairman Tom Markham agreed.
“We want to pass on as much information as possible to give you a sense of confidence at Town Meeting,” School Superintendent Doug Lyons added.
The current figure the School Committee and School Department will be asking for at the May 5 Town Meeting is $55,425,161, a 5.94 percent increase over $52,319,699 for the current Fiscal 2025. A vote on it is scheduled for the School Committee meeting Tuesday, March 25. With additional revenue from streams and federal aid, student user fees and facilities rental fees, the Fiscal 2025 budget is approximately $58 million and anticipated to be $61 million in Fiscal 2026.
The budget proposal counts revolving accounts as offset revenue, including $175,000 from the Doyle Pre-School; $75,000 from the Wakefield Academy before- and after-school programs for custodial overtime, utility costs and capital purchases and $50,000 from the facility rental revolving account, but they and Circuit Breaker aid for Special Education can only be used in those areas.
“I can’t just move money from one account to another,” School Department Business Manager Christine Bufagna explained. “The offsets have to be related to that account.”
“We’re bound by statute to use the money in those accounts for things related to those accounts,” Lyons added.
Bufagna pointed out four cost drivers — salaries, transportation, utilities and SPED, especially related to out of district placements. “The biggest driver is labor,” Lyons elaborated, specifically $44,082,014 in Fiscal 2025 to $46,776,559 in Fiscal 2026, a 5.15 percent increase. “Labor is ruling the roost and they’re digging in, but we think we’re offering contracts not out of line with what is offered from the other side,” a reference to current salary negotiations with paraprofessionals.
Another pressure on the budget is short term sources of revenue related to the pandemic expiring. “It looks like we’re asking for more, but we’re just trying to keep what we have after a loss of funds,” Bufagna said.
Efforts to deal with salary costs include consolidating or reconstitution positions, based on retirements or teachers leaving the district. “Those positions become part of a plan to keep, eliminate or reconstitute them,” Lyons explained. “That’s how we’re trying to find and fund new positions.”
The School Department is also trying to save money for the town by incorporating benefits for food service workers in its operating budget, like a revolving account or enterprise fund.
Although not at the meeting, School Subcommittee member Peter Davis later explained, “We’re providing expenses that can reduce the burden to the town. As long as we can sustain it, it will reduce the burden on the town, although it will not sustain itself forever.”
Lyons spent most of the morning meeting explaining costs related to SPED, specifically those related to educating Multi-Language Learners and out of district placements. “The numbers don’t tell the whole story,” he said. “There are stories within the numbers. We’re getting students in Middle and High school whose English skills are not where they should be so we’re teaching them a new language and content at the same time.”
He also said Pre-Kindergarten and summer education programs are in place which ease students’ entry into school in Kindergarten and minimize the “summer slide” of students losing ground over the summer. “I couldn’t be prouder,” he said of the programs.
Finance Committee member Dan Sherman asked why the number of students classified as having disabilities rose from 16.5 percent in the 2020-21 school year to 19.6 percent in 2023-24.
“Have the rules changed as to what constitutes that?” he asked.
“It’s changed dramatically,” Lyons reacted.
“We all remember kids on the spectrum who weren’t getting services,” Town Administrator Steve Maio added, but Sherman interjected, “They were mainstreamed.”
“To their detriment,” Cusack commented.
“Unsuccessfully mainstreamed,” SPED Director Rosie Galvin added. “We’re in line with state averages, 18.7 percent in 2020-21 and 20 percent in 2023-24, but the average cost per student is going up as student needs are getting greater,” in reference to the range of cost for out-of-districts placements ranging from $43,803-455,372 per student as opposed to $24,150-352940 in
Fiscal 2023 and the average tuition from $75,089 to 133,091.
The number of SPED students in out-of-district programs has remained fairly stable, but costs have risen dramatically since Fiscal 2023. That year there were 36 in that category, with 38 in the new projected budget. For the district, tuition has risen from $2.85 million to $5.19 million, partly as a result of a 14 percent increase in cost mandated by then new state regulations for Fiscal 2024. “We do a lot to build up district programs to meet out students’ needs and keep them in the district, but sometimes student needs are so high we can’t build programming or there’d be a cohort of one student.”
“We’re trying to keep students in the district, but the costs rise for out-of-district placements based on what those schools are charging,” Bufagna confirmed.
She also pointed out the needs of SPED students changes year to year because the cohort does as they enter and exit the system.
Finance Committee member Lorri Wheeler asked, “If the out-of-district provider sets a price, you have to accept that?”
“Yes, but…” Lyons answered. “We’re bound by the Individual Education Plan that comes in, but sometimes we look at and feel we need to do more. Parents ask for testing that can increase or decrease services.”
“If we feel strongly we have a good in-district program, parents might want it, but if they have an out-of-district placement they like, we’re probably not going to get them back,” Galvin added.
“We do a lot of work to build up in-district programming and if we can build up enough, we can fight a request for an out-of-district placement, but we can’t replace programming for more complicated needs.”
There is Circuit Breaker aid to help cover some of the costs, but districts are only given 75% in reimbursement. One year it was only 65% and communities are facing the potential of cuts in funding from the federal government from the Trump administration given the President’s inclination to cut the budget by defunding education.
The situation in Washington is looming over the whole process. “We try to set a context for the work,” Lyons said. “We get asked all the time if we’re aware of what’s happening in the country. We’re aware. We’ve never been more aware. Are we paying attention? We’ve never been paid more attention. The state is funding meals, but I don’t think that will continue. As long as it does the School Department will try to absorb the costs,” referring to recent cuts in funding at the Department of Agriculture which may affect food pantries and school meal programs.
He also said 112 out of 115 employees at the National Center of Education Statistics in the federal Department of Education were fired, leaving three employees there. It’s the agency responsible for collecting and analyzing data, which affects levels of aid. “It could affect funds coming to Wakefield,” Lyons informed the attendees.
“We realize this is a big ask, but except for the salaries, it’s a level funded budget,” Davis said later, while acknowledging there are also increases in costs related to Special Education, out-of-district placements and transportation. “There’s no new headcount. It’s what it takes to provide level service. If we don’t get the funding we’ll have to look at cuts.”
The legally required Public Hearing on the budget was held Thursday, March 20 as a video conference meeting. It’s done that way because few if any people participate, be it attending the Public Hearing during a live in-person meeting or a video conference. Like last year, the hearing consisted of the members sitting in their homes on camera to see if anyone would tune in, although Finance Committee member Jim Sullivan said, “I have no comment about the budget,” as he did last year.
Before the Public Hearing was formally opened, resident Julie Scott said, “The School Department has to look at administrative positions,” she said regarding areas for potential cuts. “There are layers of people hired who don’t interact with children.”