Swampscott Reverses Course On $482K School Budget Add

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Two nights of lengthy and passionate debate over the school budget led to a vote of Swampscott town meeting members on Tuesday to rescind $482,000 in budget additions that had been approved with an amendment vote on Monday that would have raised the property tax levy.

One night after town meeting members voted in favor of the additional school funding following pleas from School Committee members, parents and educators above the district's needs to reduce class sizes and increase spending on mental health and special education, those favoring reconsideration argued that arbitrarily raising the town budget and tax levy on the floor of town meeting would have a long-term detrimental effect on both taxpayers and the town's bond rating.

Moderator Michael McClung ruled with the support of town counsel that the reconsideration motion had standing with members of the Select Board, Finance Committee and Select Board Chair Suzanne Wright saying that the long budget process that had led to the original 5.1 percent proposed increase in the school budget for 2025 should be honored.

"What we saw (Monday) night at town meeting was the exact opposite of collaboration and the exact opposite of a good budget process," Select Board Chair David Grishman said. "The amendment to increase funding for Swampscott Public Schools by another $482,000 was an idea that should have been discussed and should have been vetted with the town and its finance team, and should have been vetted and discussed by the superintendent and school business manager.

"None of this process occurred. And that is bad government."

School Committee member Glenn Paster, who voted against the final budget and advocated for the $482,000 addition on Tuesday night, said that the move to bring the added funding to the floor of town meeting was necessary precisely because the money needed for the schools would not have made it through the standard budget process.

"It's going to make your schools better," he said of the added money. "If we didn't need it, if we didn't think it was necessary, I'm telling you I wouldn't be standing here talking to you. I think it's necessary."

The roll call vote to approve the budget line without the added money from Monday night was 137 to 96.

Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said adding the nearly half-million "will undermine everything that we're doing" in maintaining fiscal discipline, moderating annual property tax increases and protecting the town's Triple-A bond rating.

Wright broke from some of her School Committee colleagues and pushed to reconsider the addition that she said could potentially "set us up for failure tomorrow" ahead of a new teacher collective bargaining agreement.

Select Board member MaryEllen Fletcher praised the efforts of school proponents to bring the vote to the town meeting floor at the same time she said she opposed the added funding.

"We could be making a very serious mistake," she said. "I spoke to eight people (on Tuesday) who voted 'yes' (on Monday) night and I asked them why they voted 'yes.' ... Every one of them said: 'I just didn't know what was going on. ... And I was told it wasn't going to affect my taxes.' There was a lot of misinformation out there.

"You have every right to ask for more money outside of the (town committee) circle and I applaud you. I don't agree with you. But I applaud you."

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