Salem Schools Face Harsh Budget Crunch Amid Reduced State Aid

SALEM, MA — Salem school officials are waving the caution flag of a potentially daunting budget process this spring amid a drastic reduction in state aid.

While Salem Superintendent Steve Zrike proposed a 4.6 percent increase in the budget — mainly to fund contractual obligations, including many that were underfunded last year — Salem Mayor and School Committee Chair Kim Driscoll said the city may be fortunate to fund half of that increase because of what officials said is a perplexing reduction of state contributions.

"I don't like to be the bearer of bad news," Driscoll told the School Committee Monday night. "But I don't want us to all engage in a lengthy (budget) process and have the rug pulled out from under us at the last minute either."

At issue is the state's Chapter 70 funding, which increased substantially in many area districts, but increased only 0.5 percent (about $130,000) in Salem.

Zrike said the first draft of the budget came in at a proposed 7.8 percent increase, which was then trimmed to 4.6 percent because of looming funding realities. Even at that, Driscoll called it "very much a stretch budget" at this point.

"We don't believe that Salem is getting its fair share of dollars from the state," Zrike said. "Our need not being recognized in a manner that is necessary for us to properly fund education."

While Driscoll said the formula is a complicated one, part of the issue is declining enrollment and that Salem is considered one of the "wealthier" gateway cities despite having a substantial percentage of its student body in financial need.

"We're not a city that has disregarded our responsibilities to schools," Driscoll said. "A significant part of our budget — close to 70 percent of our budget — is tied to education. But we do have other things that we have to do in the city. This year, in particular, with such reduced local aid there's no way we can absorb a 4.6 percent increase.

"I want to be honest about that as opposed to creating chaos."

At more than $21,000 per student, Salem spends significantly more than most area North Shore communities per pupil, with Driscoll saying Monday that she believes it is the most of any district in Essex County.

Driscoll said state officials Sen. Joan Lovely and Rep. Paul Tucker have tried to help the city understand the modest increase — and perhaps gain some further relief — but that assuming additional funding is a dangerous path as the budget process continues.

"I am concerned that we're marching down a path and anticipating a number that may not necessarily be there for us at the end," Driscoll said. "The tough part about this is the mechanics of when the state approves its budget and when the funding will be final, and when we'll know when there will be additional opportunities for us there."

Salem has some Elementary and Secondary School Relief (ESSR) funds that could potentially be used to plug targeted gaps this year, but those are tied into COVID-19 relief and are short-term solutions to what could be a longer-term structural budget problem if state aid does not return to higher levels in upcoming years.

"We've tried to do the backward mapping to understand this formula," Driscoll said. "Every other gateway city is gaining a substantial increase. Even cities close to us that are not gateway cities — Beverly's increase, I think, is $2.2 million — and that is not a gateway city.

"There is something in the way that formula works that is not working in our favor. It is important that we figure this out because this is going to have an impact not just this year but years down the road."

A public forum will be held to discuss the school budget on May 2 with the School Committee scheduled to vote on the budget on May 16 — though Driscoll indicated on Monday that the final vote could be extended while further funding areas are explored.

(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.)