NAHANT — The School Committee met Tuesday evening to discuss some of the major elements of the upcoming budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
Superintendent of Schools Rob Liebow presented the two versions before the committee. He noted initially a total increase of $246,208, which he said was a 5.19% increase over last year’s approved budget amount. Last year, the approved amount was $190,000 over the year before that.
For the Johnson School, Liebow noted an increase of $20,103. For the district section, there was an increase of $190,159, and the town section of the budget saw an increase of $35,000.
“There was an increase of nine out-of-district students to twelve, this school year,” Liebow said. “And we’re projecting that will continue into the next school year.”
He added that salary increases for the collective bargaining agreement for unit-A teachers is 3.25 % for next year. Liebow also said there was a teacher missing from the budget for grade five because the current two fourth-grade teaching positions were not filled. So, version one projected one teacher for grade five.
“The school counselor, who is presently full-time, is kept in this budget as full-time, but a portion of her salary in previous years was funded in-part through grant money that’s now gone,” Liebow said. “So, in order to keep a counselor full-time, the budget has to absorb the loss of the grant funding and show an increase.”
“The increases in district tuitions and transportation increases for out-of-district special-education placements are the main and necessary drivers of this budget,” Liebow said. “And this is showing a budget increase of $170,647,” Liebow said.
He added that was 70% of the overall budget increase for the school year. “But it’s important to note that that amount includes about $150,000 of circuit-breaker money to reduce what would have been an increase of $218,102.”
“So, by applying circuit-breaker, we’re able to lower that number down,” Liebow said. “But it’s still a very high number.”
During the meeting, the committee decided that more time was required before finalizing their decisions on the best path forward. Thet will continue the discussion at their next meeting.
