LYNN — The school’s fiscal year 2024 budget raised some “severe concerns” for the Lynn Teachers Union, Union President Sheila O’Neil told the School Committee Thursday evening.
The budget, she said, has 12 additional administrative positions, which will cost $1.3 million. O’Neil said that amount of money could pay for 25 new entry-level educators.
According to the School Committee’s proposed budget, there is an increase in personnel and services to support students’ needs holistically.
“[Lynn Public Schools (LPS)] has restructured its clinical model to one that focuses on tier-one support across the district and aligns social-worker caseloads with the National Association of Social Workers recommendation of one social worker for every 250 students in a school,” the proposed budget reads.
The budget has also planned for staffing increases in order to “expand student access,” and “strategic scheduling” to allow for common planning time for teachers, it reads.
Some of the new staff includes an executive director of data, assessment, accountability; assistant director of data, assessment, accountability; assistant compliance officer; executive director of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and executive director of grants and innovation.
O’Neil said that LPS is facing a teacher shortage.
She added that more than 30 teachers and therapists resigned from their positions this past school year. Because of those open positions, non-certified substitutes have been covering classes, she said.
“Due to the teacher shortage, LPS will pay approximately $300,000 in oversize differentials for this year, not to mention the money spent paying educators for classroom coverage,” O’Neil said.
The FY24 budget has also allotted $2.1 million toward services that were previously paid by the city or Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding, she said.
“The union is greatly concerned about the sustainability of these high-paying administrative positions and these services long term,” O’Neil said.
In the budget, O’Neil said there are “only” an additional 27.8 teachers, 14 therapists, and nine paraprofessionals.
“How will LPS address the class sizes and caseload overloads when we currently have 251 and growing teacher and therapist positions open right now?” O’Neil said. “We need to think beyond one school year to the sustainability of our programs and maintaining our workforce. The focus should be on our students and their needs. Direct services to students must be our top priority, not a top-heavy administrative body.”
