NAHANT — The School Committee gathered Tuesday evening to discuss and vote on Superintendent Rob Liebow’s school budget drafts for Fiscal Year 2026.
During previous meetings, Liebow presented two versions of the possible budget before the rest of the committee. In a past committee meeting in January, he noted that there was 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 for 2023.
The committee had come to the conclusion in those past meetings that it needed more time to digest the information before agreeing on the matter.
“Version three, as it stands right now, sees a budget increase of $112,109, or a 2.6% increase in the budget,” Liebow explained. He noted that the Johnson School showed negative $74,860, the district portion of the budget was plus $191,159, and the town portion was minus $4,192.
“For the factors that affect this increase, there was a significant increase in the cost for special education,” Liebow said. He added that tuition and transportation costs were also factors considered.
He said that for salary increases, the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the teachers shows a 3.5% change. There’s one less teacher for grade five, and the position was not filled according to Liebow. “We had a teacher leave very early in the school year, and we had to shift some things around and combine things,” he said.
Liebow went on to say that a large portion of the school counselor’s salary was funded through grant money, which has since run out. She’s remained full-time, but in order to keep a full-time counselor, Liebow said the school department needs to absorb that into its budget.
“The work I’ve seen her do in the school is invaluable; it’s super important for the kids and for the continuity of education, but that will cost the budget some money,” Liebow said.
Swampscott tuition increased by 2.5%, which Liebow said he thought was reasonable. “It’s a set figure regardless of how many kids they send,” he said.
He noted other significant developments, citing that the total budget impact was reduced by applying State Aid Circuit Breaker funding revenue by $150,000. It would also apply $108,721 of Preschool Tuition revenues from fees charged to several Johnson School budget lines that service the needs of the preschool throughout the year.
“I have a real issue with the fact that we’re using fees paid by very select members of the town to cover very town-wide expenses,” Committee member Greg Paonessa said. “I have a real issue with it; we’re robbing Peter to pay Paul; I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
Paonessa said this isn’t revenue generated by taxes; it’s revenue generated by people having people pay for their kids to attend school.
Committee Chair Patty Karras suggested creating a fourth draft of the school budget that incorporates different elements from several of the ones previously presented before the committee in order to get a more agreed-upon version, which the committee would then present to the Finance Committee.
It was decided that Superintendent Liebow would draft a new version of the proposed budget in order to present it at a later date to the Finance Committee.
