'Gut-Wrenching': Marblehead Superintendent Reveals Non-Override Budget

MARBLEHEAD, MA — The loss of 33 staff positions — including a middle school librarian, cafeteria and recess monitors and longtime paraprofessionals — as well as the elimination of high school freshman sports, facilities upkeep and a middle school world language course were outlined as the implications of a so-called "reduced-services" budget that will become reality without a townwide tax override, Marblehead Superintendent John Buckey said at the School Committee public budget hearing Tuesday night.

While Buckey and the School Committee talked about generalities of what had been called the "austerity" budget proposed as the town faces a structural budget deficit at public meetings over the past two months, Tuesday night was the first time many of those specific cuts were identified as the district began its push for a town override that would sustain a "level-service budget" for Fiscal Year 2024.

(Also on Patch: Marblehead Tax Override Strategy Session Held Amid Budget Crisis)

The School Committee last week opted not to present what it had called the "aspirational" budget that included a 7.9 percent increase in funding and investment in new services and curriculum spending, among other initiatives. The reduced-service budget represents a budget increase of 1.8 percent over last year, while the level-service budget is a 4.52 percent increase and covers contractual obligations for most existing positions, as well as increases in special education and utility costs.

"No one wants to make any of the cuts that are included in the reduced-service budget," Buckey said. "We don't want to eliminate freshman sports. The athletic director doesn't want to do that. The high school principal doesn't want to do that.

"We don't want to have a middle school that doesn't have a librarian. We don't want to see programs eliminated or class sizes increase. But that's where we find ourselves when we are talking about that reduced-services budget."

The reduced-service budget is necessary for the town to include in Article 30 at the May 1 annual town meeting warrant to fund town services using only existing revenues. The Select Board is set to vote on Wednesday on the intention to also pursue two overrides as part of Article 31 — which would plug the budget gap to "level-fund" town services for one year while a longer-term strategy is put in place, as well as create a stabilization fund to address future emergency, one-time shortfalls, as the town weens itself off the long-term use of "free cash" to make ends meet.

Buckey said the level-funded budget would still result in not filling seven vacant positions within the district and would not fund any of the diversity, equity and inclusion programs that were outlined in last year's $3.1 million supplemental override proposal.

That general override passed a town meeting vote but failed a townwide override vote by a two-to-one margin. Marblehead has not passed a general townwide override since 2005.

"Our goal for FY 2024 is to provide, at minimum, a fiscally responsible budget that provides level services while aligning for our district plan for success and school improvement plan areas, and attends to the unfortunate financial reality of our town," Buckey said.

Buckey said the reduced-service budget would include "significant cuts" to staff positions and teacher professional development, a halt in technology upgrades and facility maintenance, and the elimination of paraprofessionals whom he said: "some of which have been in the district for decades."

"To have to eliminate those positions is gut-wrenching for the high school," he said.

Buckey criticized the Chapter 70 state education aid that proposes a 1.29 percent increase for Marblehead next year, while he said Lexington will enjoy a 16 percent increase and Westwood will benefit from a 17 percent increase.

"The funding formula is inherently broken when you see numbers like this," he said.

Buckey did say that $350,000 in capital and program spending was identified as potentially filled by the town's remaining American Recovery Plan Act funding, but that recurring operating expenses — such as staff positions — were not eligible for this one-time federal funding source that expires in 2024.

Members of the Marblehead Education Association read a statement into the record saying that they support the level-services budget as a "temporary remedy" to get through 2024 but that "it does not get our students and our educators what they deserve."

"We need to start preparing for FY25 when we need to come together as a community, that includes teachers, administrators, students, School Committee, and families to prepare a school override that will address all of the needs," the statement said, "and place the Marblehead Public Schools among the top-tier school districts in the Commonwealth where we belong."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)