Marblehead School 'Aspirational' Budget Retracted For Fiscal Year 2024

MARBLEHEAD, MA — The Marblehead School Committee is once again putting off its hopes of expanding services in several areas where they have collectively stated that the schools have been underfunded in recent years in hopes of maintaining as many core staff and services as possible amid a town structural budget deficit.

The School Committee voted 4-1 in a special meeting this week to put forth two budgets to the town — one an "austerity" budget that would only spend town-allotted resources, about an $800,000 increase over 2023, and that would eliminate about 30 staff positions as well as freshman-level sports, and a "level-funded" budget as part of a town property tax override that would be about a $2.2 million increase and would cover contractual obligations to "keep the lights on."

A third proposed budget was originally pegged at a 12 percent increase over 2023 and later reduced to 7.9 percent but will not be presented as it would likely require a second tax override vote that was deemed "a bridge too far" for residents who voted down last year's $3.1-million supplemental budget override by nearly a two-to-one margin.

The town last passed a general tax override vote in 2005.

"We have presented what the needs of our district are," Marblehead Superintendent John Buckey said of the 7.9 percent increase or so-called "aspirational" budget. "We also have the fiscal reality of where the town is. We presented the needs last year. The override was unsuccessful for many reasons, one of which was that the town signaled that they would be going for an override this year.

"We find ourselves this year where they are looking for a one-year fix, for lack of a better word, and they are really looking at Fiscal Year 2025 and beyond on how to fix the structural issues in the budget."

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

The town is expected to present an operating budget in Article 30 of the May 1 town meeting that funds all municipal services with available revenue, as well as Article 31 that will request an override to fill what was referred to as the "one-year gap" in revenues and maintain current services. Any additional school supplemental budget to add services, or for previously not keeping up with state mandates and other curriculum advances, would most likely have to be covered in a separate Article 32 school supplemental budget override.

"I would not recommend going out on our own like we did last year," Buckey said. "I think the voters sent a very clear message that they want us to be with the town (on any override request).

"We find ourselves in the same position. I am not sure the outcome this year would be different."

School Committee Chair Sarah Fox was the lone committee member to propose to continue to bring the third proposal to the Select Board and Finance Committee, and perhaps eventually to the voters in the form of another override.

"You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take," Fox said. "I firmly believe it is my job as a School Committee member to bring forward a budget that is representative of the needs of our students. Then I feel it is the responsibility of the will of the voters to say if they want to fund that or not."

Fox added that she has determined after years of being told the town will not back anything beyond a level-services budget, "if we're waiting for the town to welcome us to the table for an override to increase our services, I don't ever see that coming."

While her fellow School Committee members expressed support for Fox's stance in principle, they did not back her motion to push for increased services this year.

"We have to be cognizant that this town is in a major financial pickle," School Committee member Tom Mathers said. "I'd love to push for the aspirational budget. I just worry that we would spend a lot of political capital in an effort that is a bridge too far."

School Committee member Alison Taylor noted that it was "incredibly frustrating" to be making these decisions based on theoretical numbers since the town has still not "closed the books" and presented the School Committee with the firm numbers it will be willing to support under either the "austerity" or "level-funded" scenario.

"I want to keep saying that because I want it on the record and I want people to keep hearing that," she said.

Marblehead Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer told the Select Board last week that municipal departments will be asked to shave at least an additional $2 million off their collective requests for Fiscal Year 2024 as the town braces for the impact of the "structural deficit" facing it in next year's budget.

Kezer reiterated said that all departments will be required to have a budget that meets revenue and cost projections — with decreasing reliance on "free cash" — this spring because the town cannot assume passage of a tax override in June.

(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.)