SAUGUS — The School Committee took a vote on the FY26 Budget Thursday night, and it was a 3-2 vote in favor of the $34,768,535 budget.
Chair Vincent Serino started the meeting by talking about transparency and how the process is always out in the open for people to know.
“Nothing is more transparent than the school budget… Through this whole process, it’s all out in the open… I just want everyone to be aware that the process starts in November. If you have questions early on, come here,” Serino said. “If there’s something that you think the schools need or you’re not getting service with, bring them here and ask the question.”
Superintendent Michael Hashem spoke about the difficulties of figuring out the budget this year.
“One of the biggest challenges is working to make sure the cost containments necessary for next school year are in place. The budget and the impact of having to make these adjustments have been difficult over the past few weeks and months, but it’s necessary to achieve fiscal responsibility,” Hashem said.
He continued that they have been working countless hours to minimize the impact the budget has on the students and staff.
“These situations are often difficult, but we have been here before, so I’m confident that we will weather this storm collaboratively. This is an obstacle, but it’s not insurmountable. I would focus on the fact that our operations will go forward, and our student services will not be impacted. Everything will eventually be fine, but there are some difficult adjustments that have to be made,” he said.
Hashem also noted that the budget had gone up $1 million from FY25 to FY26, “but because of increased costs and some other factors that have happened since the budget was approved, we sit here and have to make some adjustments.”
“For every cut that is mentioned, there are other cuts that would be impacted if it goes a different direction, so it was really a tremendous puzzle, and we were trying to make sure that we didn’t impact services like special ed or services like social emotional services. We were trying to do as minimal as possible,” he said.
Serino said things are different right now, noting that money isn’t coming in like it used to, in regard to the state.
“It’s not what any of us want. The way I look at it, it can only go up from here,” he said.
Hashem said that if changes need to be made to save money, like raising fees or tuition, he’d prefer to do it in the fall so as not to surprise anybody and to allow people the chance to prepare.
Vice Chair Thomas Whittredge commented on special education and how the school has appropriately spent its money.
“Net School Spending is right where it’s supposed to be. So, I always have a problem with the budget… You guys know there’s a couple of things in here I just don’t agree with and people like to blame special ed a lot, but… You can go to any other district and look around. We always blame out-of-district tuition. We’re (at) 1.1%. Other districts are at 11 and 12% of their special ed that are out of district,” he said.
Whittredge said that they’re saving money by keeping kids in the schools thanks to the programs they have in place.
“I have special needs kids, and it really aggravates me to hear that that’s where people think the chunk of the money is going,” he said. “…These kids deserve to be with their peers, with their family, with their friends. They’re no different than your kids (and) my kids.”
Committee member Stephanie Mastrocola said that the budget is going to affect the students. She said that all of the members approved Hashem’s budget. She also noted that some of the decisions come from the principals, and that it isn’t just the School Committee that decides on the budget.
Committee member Ryan Fisher explained that with the increase in costs, the extra $1 million they received was “swallowed up” by that.
Fisher made the motion, and he, along with Serino and Hatch, voted yes on the budget, while Mastrocola and Whittredge voted no.
