SAUGUS — Superintendent of Schools Michael Hashem unveiled a $34.3 million fiscal year 2025 budget on Thursday, an increase of $2.7 million from the school department’s FY24 budget that he said was partly driven by more than $1 million worth of fixed-cost increases.
Hashem told the School Committee that the district is seeing a $1.4 million increase in fixed costs, bringing the district’s level-service budget — representing the FY24 appropriation, $31.6 million, plus those increases, which are driven by contractual obligations — for the coming fiscal year to $33 million. During his presentation, Hashem stressed the importance of attracting educators to the district and retaining those already in place.
The remainder of the increase sought by Hashem, $1.3 million, includes positions that were previously funded through the ESSER grant program shifting into the budget. As a result, roughly half of the $2.7 million increase comes solely from fixed cost increases.
The budget requests come across the board, both district-wide and at each of the town’s three school buildings. Among the budget requests are special education teachers and paraprofessionals, an alternative education director to oversee a new alternative education program at Saugus Middle/High School, three English language learner teachers, and an assistant principal at the Veterans Early Learning Center.
Hashem seeking such a substantive increase is notable, considering the School Committee voted down the budget first presented by former Superintendent of Schools Erin McMahon last year, stripping it to only the level-service costs foreseen for the coming fiscal year. McMahon suggested the district use state aid to fund the increase. It is not clear in Hashem’s budget letter how he is proposing the additional $2.7 million be paid for.
In the document, Hashem acknowledged that the district is just one piece of the pie and said he had been working on a “daily basis” to collaborate with Town Manager Scott Crabtree and other town departments and organizations to “foster a ‘One Town – One Team mentality.'”
“This collaboration is instrumental to the success of our students and our schools,” he wrote. “I have worked to communicate with parents, guardians, caretakers, students, and staff to put forth a unified vision, mission, and plan to move our community forward.”
“The budget needs outlined here are not a ‘wish list’ as often got stated in the past,” Hashem continued. “They are the prioritized needs that will allow our students to be successful. There are many other items that were omitted from this budget to make certain that we have been strategic in our focus and dedicated to our goals.”
Hashem laid out numerous key needs for the district moving forward in his presentation to the committee, framing the budget requests, as he did in his letter, as essential to the district’s growth.
He cited providing transparency to the community related to the district’s needs for student learning and services, the need to continue using high-quality instructional materials, continued curriculum development for staff, and providing activities outside the school day to “meet the needs of the whole child” among areas of focus in the budget process.
Hashem acknowledged the need to improve the state of the district, not just as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic but to accelerate its standing beyond where it was before the pandemic struck.
“Not only do we want to recover from the pandemic, we want to recover from where we were before the pandemic, and we’ve made great strides in implementation as far as that goes,” he said.
One of the key budget drivers this fiscal year is the growing need in Saugus for individualized student services, Hashem said, noting that roughly a third of the district’s students are on an individualized education plan, are English language learners, or are on a 504 plan. As a result, much of the budget increase is driven by a need to hire additional special education staff.
Hashem, who was a math teacher prior to taking over as superintendent, said he was uniquely positioned among superintendents to understand the needs of students and teachers in the classroom.
“When I started, it was a vastly different game, and the educators that we have need support, and that’s what this is all about,” he said.
Hashem also acknowledged the sheer cost of what he was asking.
“Nobody’s admitting that it’s not big, but it is crucial to maintain the staff and the teachers that were trained,” he said. “One of my biggest challenges for this district and one of my biggest responsibilities is stability. We need stability. And by changing teachers and staff all the time, we lose stability.”
In explaining the budget, Hashem went school by school, explaining each request and its significance to the district. At the complex, he emphasized the alternative education director post, which he said would supervise not just the existing Early College program but also other educational programs outside the traditional school day.
Previously, Saugus had a dedicated early college director to run that program.
Hashem closed by restating the importance of the document now before the committee for review.
“We have to invest in our kids,” he said.
School Committee members offered little in the way of comment on the budget, with Vice Chair Thomas Whittredge, who led the meeting in the absence of Chairman Vincent Serino, saying he thought Hashem did a great job, but he wanted to dissect the document further before diving into specifics.
School Committee member Stephanie Mastrocola similarly said she would go through the budget with a “fine-toothed comb.”
The document is likely to be voted on at the committee’s next meeting, set for Jan. 18. At that time, the committee will also comment publicly on the budget, and members themselves will offer feedback to Hashem.
