LYNN — The School Committee voted unanimously to approve the fiscal year 2022 (FY22) budget during a meeting on Thursday night, which totals $180.7 million.
Prior to the vote, the committee passed a budget amendment moving $50,000, from funds previously reserved as unemployment benefits within the personnel department, toward the purchase of new uniforms for student athletes.
School Committee member Donna Coppola suggested this amendment after discussing the old and mismatched uniforms that students have to wear.
School Business Administrator Kevin McHugh said money for uniforms will be distributed based on the need for each sport, which he said will be determined by the school’s athletic directors.
The FY22 budget received an increase of more than $10 million from last year, which allows for the district to hire 200 new positions to support student needs.
This includes the addition of 19 social workers and three school adjustment counselors to address the needs of the students.
The FY22 budget also includes the addition of 31 positions in special education, which Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler said will allow the district to provide more reliable services; this will ideally coincide with students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and will allow them to meet timelines better.
This budget features the addition of parent liaisons for every school — two in the larger schools — as well as 11 more English as a Second Language teachers.
There will also be an added position in the Welcome Center, an additional 16 technology teachers to allow students to engage deeper in technological skills and digital literacy, and an added administrative-level position to focus on family and community engagement.
Translational services will receive $208,000 in the FY22 budget, which Deputy Superintendent Debra Ruggiero said has been underfunded to begin with.
“We really need to formalize how we translate for our families, because it needs to be the right caliber translation,” Ruggiero said during a previous meeting.
Students in the district are scheduled to return to full-time, in-person learning in the fall and the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said masks will not be required.
Committee member Michael Satterwhite thanked Tutwiler, Mayor Thomas M. McGee, McHugh and the rest of the team who worked on this budget, saying it is very well thought out.
