Peabody School Committee Passes Budget That Cuts Positions

PEABODY, MA -- The Peabody School Committee approved $6.2 million in budget cuts Tuesday night. The cuts eliminate several positions, including 10 classroom teachers. Jarrod Hochman was the only School Committee member to vote against the budget. Teachers and parents were among the 50 or so people who attended the meeting to protest the cuts, which school officials said were driven by increased healthcare costs, employee raises and increased special education costs.

Interim Superintendent Herb Levine said the staff cuts are coming through retirements and non-renewal of contracts. The school system pays about $60 million to staff its 10 schools, which serve 5,900 students. The Fiscal 2019 budget is $73.7 million next year. There are cuts in key areas, according to teachers, including $500,000 in supplies.

"I'm cutting $500,000 not because we don't value supplies, but because we value teaching positions more," Levine said, adding that no teacher would "go without what they need."

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Video of public hearing by Peabody TV. Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).