MARBLEHEAD — School Committee meetings that have occurred since the beginning of the new year have had one topic in common: the Fiscal Year 2025 and 2026 budgets.
Primarily at the School Committee Budget Subcommittee, the FY25 and 26 budgets were discussed, but at the School Committee meeting on Thursday, members voted on override warrants.
The Assistant Superintendent of Finances and Operations, Michael Pfifferling, gave a majority of the updates at the subcommittee meeting. Pfifferling shared updates particularly focused on the out-of-district budget and the legal budget.
The out-of-district bill for the school district is over the budget by about $1 million. Pfifferling shared that the budget accounted for $2.3 million, and the district is expected to come in at around $3.3 million. This was not too much of a concern for Pfifferling as the district has made prepayments toward the fees of $900,000.
Pfifferling then shared that the legal budget is exceeding expectations due to the teacher strike that occurred in the fall. After the Essex Superior Court Judge handed fines to the Marblehead Education Association (MEA), their funds diminished quickly, leaving the MEA with no money to pay for the fines.
These fines ultimately landed on the lap of the School Committee as part of an agreement between the two parties. In addition to the court fines, the School Committee also must pay for the police details, food services, overtime pay, and payroll for those who continued to work throughout the strike.
Pfifferling gave a rough amount of $11,000 toward the legal budget, which only included the payroll. He had not yet added food service, police details, or any other fees from the strike.
Thursday, the School Committee voted in approval for both a debt exclusion override and a warrant for the Proposition 2 ½ override that has been the center of conversation since the conclusion of the strike.
The debt exclusion override is most likely going to be used toward the new roof for Marblehead High School. This override is separate from the Proposition 2 ½ override. The debt exclusion is a temporary override, while Proposition 2 ½ is permanent.
At the subcommittee meeting, the Proposition 2 ½ override was brought to the conversation, but School Committee Co-Chair Sarah Fox stated there could be no numbers attached to the override until the state of the town is discussed once the town determines what funds are needed, for who, and when, then numbers can be discussed.
Although the history of overrides passing in Marblehead is not positive, residents will vote once again on an override at Town Meeting in May.
