PEABODY — With budget cuts becoming a necessity in the city, parents and teachers took to the microphone during the committee’s public hearing on the Fiscal Year 26 (FY26) Budget to talk about the current cuts that have been made.
One of the first to speak was Mike Hawes, the current first vice president of the Peabody Federation of Teachers.
“My plea tonight is to think of different and creative ways to find money to fund the cut positions because it is clear now more than ever the students and families need more staff, not less,” Hawes said.
He also wanted to address misinformation about co-teaching being called a success.
“At the high school, it is not. I can only speak from being a high school teacher, however, we have filed numerous grievances against the model,” he said.
He also mentioned that the district is very top-heavy, and if they’re looking for money, they need to look at the top.
“There are at least a few in that group that do not have direct interaction with students. Also, no more T-shirts, no more guest speakers. We could use (that) money in different ways,” Hawes said.
Liz Mover, a parent of two middle schoolers on IEPs, spoke on the success that they’ve had through the cluster model at Higgins Middle School.
“My oldest son started at Higgins the first year the co-taught cluster model was introduced here. Due to the great success of many students in this model, the sixth and seventh grades increased to two co-taught clusters,” Mover said.
She continued that she was always told that the plan would be for the eighth grade to also have two co-taught clusters.
“However, last year the school committee opted not to fill the special ed positions needed to implement a second co-taught cluster for the eighth grade,” she said. This year, the committee has voted to go from five clusters to four in the eighth grade, increasing class sizes.
“I have grave concerns about the decision being made for the Higgins Middle School. I’m concerned you’re making decisions based on financial concerns only and not what our students need.”
West Memorial School teacher Amanda Murphy spoke on the recent decision to cut Kathryn Nutter, the deaf and hard of hearing teacher. Murphy spoke about her first moments at the West school and a student in her class who had hearing loss.
“It would be my first time working with a student that was hard of hearing, and of course I was panicked with racing thoughts of how am I going to make sure this student would have the same experience as the other students,” Murphy said.
She said that Nutter walked in and made all of the worries disappear, walking Murphy through how to support the student in and out of the classroom. She told the story of another student she had in her second year who was deaf, and how, once again, Nutter stepped up to work side by side with Murphy.
“And (through) all of my questions and wanting to expand my learning, she has never not had a minute for me and never ever has made me feel small or belittled with anything that I’ve ever brought to her attention,” she said.
She said the school is taking away a pillar of safety and strength for the students and going against the words of the late former Superintendent Cara Murtagh, “Every student, every day.”
The mother of the student who is hard of hearing, Rachel Randall, also spoke on behalf of Nutter and to advocate for her position.
There was also a line of students and parents advocating for Peabody P.R.E.P. Superintendent Josh Vadala did say that the online school would remain an option. However, there would be changes. Parents spoke about how the school helped their kids thrive, with some choosing the alternative due to bullying or health issues.
It was made clear that the hope is for the P.R.E.P. to stay as it is and that the program is something that is a necessity.
Many others stood up, waiting in a line to speak about the budget and address cuts that they firmly believed would cause harm to the staff and especially to the students. Some also advocated for positions that they believe are necessities.
