NORTH ANDOVER — Voters overwhelmingly approved increasing the school budget for fiscal year 2026 to $69.2 million during the annual Town Meeting on Tuesday night.
The city and school budgets were among the many articles which hundreds of voters voted on in a crowded North Andover High School auditorium.
Voters passed an amendment increasing the school budget by $1 million. The originally proposed school district budget totaled $68.2 million. The amendment changed the overall expenditure for the General Fund to $136.3 million for fiscal year 2026. The next fiscal year begins July 1.
Superintendent Pamela Lathrop detailed a difficult process to get to the budget presented to voters. But she said it was one that supported student learning while addressing the school district’s financial responsibility. The budget came with staff reductions across district to meet the budget. It also proposed the temporary closure of the Kittredge Elementary School. The $68.2 million budget was made considering fiscal year 2027.
During discussion on the article, Town Manager Melissa Rodrigues said there was $1 million left in tax levy capacity with a $68.2 million school budget. The recommended budget was a 3.14% increase over the previous fiscal year. Adding $1 million to the budget would likely result in more cuts next year for fiscal year 2027, she added.
The initial $68.2 million was a 10.4% increase over fiscal year 2025 and would have raised taxes by 6.1%.
“It is one of the largest school budget increases in recent history,” Finance Committee Chair Denevan O’Connell said before the article’s passage.
Resident Mark Rodgers made the motion to amend the school budget to $69.2 million. Rodgers’ wife is a teacher in the school system and his three kids were educated in the district.
This increase raised the total education budget, including allocations for Greater Lawrence Technical School and Northern Essex, to $70.7 million. The amended budget would raise taxes to an estimated $9,249 for an average family home in town valued at $825,000.
The town also approved transferring $2.3 million from free cash to the fiscal year 2025 operating budget in order to offset the school deficit. The school district has projected a budget deficit of $4.1 million for the current fiscal year. Rodrigues said the transfer was important because the town would have ended up in an appropriation deficit without it.
Another article passed to transfer $63,000 from the Special Education Stabilization Fund to the fiscal year 2025 General Fund to offset the deficit of the school district.
Rodgers said the new budget would bring back some teachers, reduce some class sizes and add more instructional time. He stressed that it won’t bring back all laid off staff or fully fund the schools and may not keep Kittredge Elementary School open.
Resident David White asked how the school district would spend the additional money proposed. Lathrop answered she would consult with the School Committee and school administration. Funds would also be reserved for unforeseen expenses to avoid being in the same position that the deficit has put the district in the last two years.
Lathrop said the proposed budget had met the needs of students while maintaining elementary class size, but was not a change from what class sizes currently look like. She stated the district has not laid off any teaching assistants and has made special education a priority when developing the lower, recommended budget. School officials also made the decision to restore direct language instruction at the middle school after an outpouring of public support.
Shannon Gately said the decision affected future school budgets
“I’m not OK with fine, I want more,” Gately said. “I want my son to be more successful than me.”
Residents disagreed on what was fiscally responsible to do regarding the budget. Erin Harris voiced her support for the amended budget, saying it was the fiscally responsible thing to do.
“You move here for the schools, it’s why I came here,” Harris said. “Fund our schools and you fund our town for the future.”
Others like Jennifer Watson were against the amendment saying it was fiscally irresponsible to add $1 million. Watson said the school district is in a crisis situation. She spoke about the new administration and starting Lathrop off with a budget to properly work with this upcoming year.
“We can’t start her off by crippling her with a budget that is going to send us into deficit,” Watson said.
The town’s Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal year 2026 was also approved that included $3.2 million for the turf field project and other improvements at the high school’s athletic complex.
High school senior Nate Solivan spoke in support of the article. The 18-year-old senior said he won’t benefit from the new field, but wanted those younger than him to have a field where all the school’s teams could play and one that was cleaner.
“We don’t want them walking through goose poop like they’re land mines,” Sullivan said.