LYNNFIELD — The Select Board reiterated the need for a budget override at last Thursday’s meeting after superintendent Tom Geary presented the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) needs for the school, which totaled an 11% increase with a $650,000 capital improvement project (CIP) request.
Select Board Chair Dick Dalton also expressed the need for further detail on how Geary and the School Committee arrived at the 11% figure and appointed Town Administrator Rob Dolan as a voting member of the School District Negotiating Committee.
Dalton asked Dolan to report back to the Select Board on the progress being made by the committee as they work towards a collective bargaining agreement with the unions, as well as requesting monthly district expenditure reports throughout FY26.
“It’s certainly a challenging year when it comes to developing a budget that we can bring to Town Meeting,” Dalton said to Geary. “One thing I’m certain of is that an override can’t be avoided unless, of course, as you referred to, we consider Draconian reductions in both the town’s and school’s budget.”
He explained how Lynnfield finds itself in this difficult financial situation because revenue growth has not kept pace with inflation.
“As a municipality, our revenue growth is limited by proposition 2 ½. We are at a point in time where new growth is minimal, and that means there aren’t any significant revenues over and above what is provided by the increase under proposition 2 ½,” Dalton said. “The problem is then further complicated by a state legislature and administration that are quick to add financial burdens onto municipalities, but callously ignore and disregard how we can fund those obligations.”
He cited a large increase in state health insurance costs and a bump in snow removal costs due to a higher storm amount this winter than in past years as strains to the town’s finances.
Dolan will be laying out the overall operating budget for the town at the next Select Board meeting, where, according to Dalton, multiple layoffs, restructuring, and buyouts will be outlined to achieve some cost reductions.
With the LPS budget being as impactful to the town’s overall financials as it is, the board communicated the importance of being sure that an 11% increase and $650,000 CIP request are the correct figures for FY26.
“We’re making progress, and we’re getting to that point as we work together,” Dalton said. “Also, what we have to realize is we have to adopt a plan that is sustainable… we don’t want to be in a position where we’re going to adopt a plan that we agree to go forward, and next year we’re coming back to the voters, or the year after. That has to be avoided.”
He emphasized that he doesn’t want to cut that 11% increase down, but wants to ensure that they’ve gone through all available information that goes into deciding on the school’s operating budget.
To that end, Dalton appointed Dolan to represent the board at the School District Negotiation Committee meetings and to then report back when needed at an executive session.
He also called for a joint executive session between the Select Board and the School Committee members, many of which were at last Thursday’s meeting, to discuss and exchange information.
“Again, I want to say, I do, in fact, support override, but it’s just to what degree, that’s the question I’m struggling with,” Dalton said. “I don’t want anyone to interpret my remarks this evening as being critical of the superintendent or the School Committee, nor should they be interpreted as mine not supporting the school… we’ve been exchanging ideas, and we’re making progress.”
This is especially true in regard to the CIP request to upgrade the districtwide technology infrastructure, which the Select Board saw the importance of first-hand after taking a tour of the Summer Street Elementary School.
“My big takeaway was how much more productive and meaningful a class can be with the use of technology,” Dalton said. “I thought that really showed the true value of technology in the classroom.”
Select Board Vice Chair Phil Crawford echoed Dalton’s sentiments and requested detailed information about the school’s financial situation so that they could continue the lengthy conversations they’ve been having.
One aspect of the budgetary strain he mentioned was the rising costs of special education, which he hoped could be reined in, but he acknowledged how it is a “budget buster for everybody” and agreed with Geary that it is similar to the health insurance issue.
“And now we’re piling on a collective bargaining agreement that you’re still working on with the schools, which is going to exacerbate this to a number we have to get a handle on this year,” Crawford said. “We also have to be comfortable with what that override looks like… I’ve been doing this for a long time. I know the majority of what you’re asking for is salary increases that have to do with the CBA. How much of that is being forced on you by the MTA? I don’t know, but I would assume most of it is.”
He noted how in his 12 years of being on the Select Board, he’s never seen an override as big as this one, illustrating the significance of being sure of all the numbers.
Select Board Clerk Alexis Leahy added to the characterization of FY26 as a year of unique challenges for every department that has forced difficult decisions.
With the schools taking up the largest portion of the town’s budget, these obstacles become larger, and Leahy emphasized the importance of not “kicking the can down the road” and making sure the budget, not just for the schools but all of Lynnfield, is sustainable.
“I look forward to getting more information from you before our hearing next week. I think you’ve all done a great job,” Crawford said. “I think the first year we really got to tighten our belts and take a much deeper dive to see what we can do for the future because in three years we have another collective bargaining agreement, so what are they going to be asking for then?”
