Budget Hearing- Methuen School Committee 5-07-2026

001[music] >> Now, the fiscal year 27 budget, adoption of the fiscal year 27 budget of the The speaker's on. Is the speaker on? No. Do you have a gavel? No, you do this. That's right. the speakers are on. Is that right? You want to? Yeah. That would be fun though. I guess the speakers weren't on, so we'll uh get started and I'll repeat what I just said. Uh good evening. The public hearing of the fiscal year '27 budget adoption of the fiscal year '27 budget of the Methuen School Committee uh posted for Thursday, May 7th, 2026 will now come to order. I'll ask the secretary to call the roll. Member Keegan? Present. Member Serroice? Present. >> Member Willette? >> Yeah. Vice Chair DeZoglio? Here. Mayor Beauregard? >> Here. Member Donovan is here and member Byam

002is. >> Present. Everybody's here. We need a motion and a second to accept the agenda. So moved. Second. Motion's from the Vice Chair, seconds from Member Keegan. Any discussion? There's no discussion. We will vote. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The eyes have it. Uh next on the agenda we have the flag salute. So at this point I'll invite Dr. Golabski to share her presentation and then uh we'll move into the public hearing. Thank you. Good evening. Tonight we're going to present um our latest version of the budget. We began with our preliminary presentation on April 16th. Since that time, we've had five budget workshops. We've had several um informal and formal small group meetings with school committee members, city council members. We've provided information that was requested by many of the committee members. I

003really appreciate the collaboration. I think we've all been looking line by line trying to discover um some excess funds, and I think we're all in agreement that there are none. Um so, to this point, we feel as though we have reduced to a degree where we're able to maintain services, opportunities for students that are very similar or identical to those which they experience and enjoy currently. Um and we feel as though staff would experience a very similar work day um and collaboration time schedule, which we are prioritizing as well. So, to date, you'll see in your binder, and for those of you listening at home or in the audience, all of these materials are posted online, linked under the on the word packet in the school committee page. There are memos in the jacket that

004talk about how we arrived at that $4.7 million reduction reduction from that original proposal. And you'll see that there's a number of teaching positions, program assistants, counselors, all of whom we do find necessary and we would be operating without and doing the very best we can to provide our students with a high-quality education, but nevertheless, there are positions listed there that show [snorts] how we got to those reductions, and whereas we had a short list of requested additions, our positions that we thought would help us become more efficient, we have reduced those positions to four, one of which is grant-funded, one of which will be funded through our CTE programming funding, um and then two of which are are necessary for operation. So, you'll see in your binder as you flip through school by school,

005when you get to that uh requests remaining, in most cases it says none. So, we've we've tried to be um collaborative and to hear all opinions and voices as we've moved through this. There was a question asked at the last meeting as to how many people or individuals that would mean um in terms of where we are right now with reductions, and we went through and first looked at the vacant positions we had listed, the retiree positions that we had listed, which was our intent to to spare our staff to the degree possible. And then we went through and started looking at people, and what we found were that the people who perhaps are newest to us or are without a license in that particular area where we would be looking first had been individuals

006where we've I recognize those names as having been on the list last year as well. And that's um that's unfortunate, and also if you looked in our schools and our mentorship programs, we have mentors in every school building. Those meetings at once had been pretty robust and lively and full of people, and now there's very few new people in the buildings. So, we're at a place now where we're looking at, and this is approximate because as you know due to attrition or other events that come up and bumping and moving between grades there could be some fluctuation here but we're looking at 35 individuals and we are moving into the professional um teacher status realm. So again that brought us $4.7 million below our first um presentation or our preliminary budget. And we do still

007have some ways to go to get to the um the provided number that was just under 114. So Ian will be able to provide you the specifics. We are still around 118 million. I think it was 30,000 less than what we had presented um most recently at our workshop after we combed through every line to make sure that we were um accurate in our math there. Uh you'll also see in the jacket the grid that we had shared at the last workshop that shows our class sizes by grade level. And again for the teachers who are listening it's a complicated process in terms of reduction. So if you see on the grid which is posted online as well that is a reduction in a particular grade level, it doesn't necessarily mean that a teacher currently

008in that grade level in that school will be the one um who who might be receiving um a riff notice. So there's some fluctuation there. So we have uh lifted our threshold which was once 26 to 30. Our kindergartens um we are not permitted by regulation to have them over 25 with good reason. We are below that at 20 22 on our anticipated projections. But that is um in large part where our positions came from on that reduction list. There was some talk about um perhaps user fees or athletic fees being an idea to help save positions or roles. There's a memo included there that includes projections uh based on pay structures or fee structures within the Merrimack Valley Conference. So, you'll be able to see the range of the money that could potentially be

009taken in if you did go that route. Um and within the binder we have our our gen- generic summary from the narratives that talk about the specific programming that's in every school that's unique and demands um particular set of staffing or expertise. And then also it lists the required positions and Ian um beneath those narratives has included the line by line um salaries, costs, contracted services that will make up our budget. So, we ask for your um consideration in the the budget that we have before you is that $118 million budget that seemed to be the consensus from the last meeting that that wish that was the wish that we have shared with you today. Mr. Goslin, would you like to add? Uh I don't have a lot to add. I think we should get

010to the public hearing. Um however, I do want to point out in the very back of your binders, there is a green packet. I had a school committee member ask me for all the lines for the whole district together so they didn't have to look at them school by school. So, that is in the back of your packet for you to uh peruse. And I also want to remind everyone that I say that every meeting remember last year we got $12 million dollars circuit breaker we were able to back out and this year we're looking at 9 million. So our spending didn't really go up that extra three. We got 3 million less funding. So I just want to point that out for the public and for you, but I don't have anything further to

011add. These numbers are what we talked about Tuesday for the most part. The athletics, I think it's you know, digest it and we can talk about it I guess on Monday or next week. This obviously will not be a final budget I do not think. We're going to still have to We're going to have to get down to that number depending on when we get information from the state. Possibly maybe if city councilors can help us out with some one-time costs, some unemployment. I mean that might be a first step, but again that's at the the city council decision and I haven't heard anyone necessarily against that. So I don't want anyone to think but I think that might be a first step. So. So we'll move on to the public hearing. Do we have

012the list? We'll start off with Tom Myers. Good evening. Can you all hear me? My name is Tom Myers and I reside at 57 Cox Lane. And I'm a retired public school teacher. I taught for over 40 years in numerous settings. Mostly I would say at at Andover High School. And I'm here today to ask that you recommend to the city council that they use free cash to cover the deficit that was just articulated to us uh for next year's budget to prevent draconian cuts to education in our district. Cutting those who provide direct services to students is clearly a dystopian idea. It will cause class sizes to increase which clearly hurts students who receive substantially less attention. You know, no matter what you do, if you have more of responsibility it's harder to do

013the job. And I think you all know that probably from the professions you're in. You know, if you're an accountant, you're a lawyer, somebody's piling more and more on, you know you can't do as well as if you have less and more time. And um cutting teachers obviously is going to mean larger class sizes. Research, going all the way back to the Kerner Commission in 1960 7, indicates that class size is one of the most important factors in determining student success. Cutting aides, librarians, guidance counselors all harm children in a myriad of ways. The tremendous disruption that occurs when you let staff go, then you bring others on causes confusion in the school. Those that are new and bringing fresh blood into the system are often the first to go. And that then causes, as

014I indicated, tremendous disruption within the schoolhouse. The damage done to children is irreparable. Students only have 1 year in a particular grade. And if their educational opportunities are reduced, this will affect them for their entire lives. You can't go back and undo third grade if it was a disaster. Therefore, I urge you to push for short-term solution, to tap into free cash available, which will give us a year to come together and to solve our fiscal problems by constructing a long-term plan to address our budget problems. I realize, as you guys do, you can't constantly tap into your savings, whether you're an individual in your own home or you're on a school committee. But, I also realize that if you cut at the numbers that are are being stated, you're going to have a school

015district that is going to decline tremendously. Property values will decline tremendously. You know, our whole district, our whole community will suffer. The fulcrum of our community is in fact public education. You know that. It's why you're on the school committee, to make things better. And I ask that you take a bold stand and to move forward and to tell the city council, we need to get this money for 1 year. I appreciate you listening to me. Thank you all very much, okay? >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you, Tom. Sarah Calla. >> [clears throat] >> Hi. My name is Sarah Calla. I will start by saying I am preaching to the choir a bit cuz it's not completely your decision. It's coming from the city council and the city government. I'm a resident and an active

016voter. I vote in all the elections, all of them. I'm also an employee of Methuen public schools of 20-plus years. I moved to Methuen when I was uh pregnant with my own daughter. As many people can attest, I chose Methuen at that time because of the school system. I'm not sure I would make that choice today. I actually probably wouldn't. I witnessed programs being cut. I watched as the district remove PA positions, librarians, cut tech positions, cut engineering, cut teachers. We used to have one tech person and an instructional technology person in each building, and librarians. There've been cuts and reductions for years. None of this is new. However, it's incredibly sad and disturbing at at times. As I think of my own children, I think of the education that they received versus what students

017will receive next year potentially with these cuts. Class sizes matter a great deal. According to the Tennessee Project STAR study, small class sizes 13 to 17 are the most beneficial or class sizes of 22 to 25 with a teaching assistant. Students with low class sizes show a greater achievement. Small class sizes are the most beneficial for economically disadvantaged and minority students. I think our number's around 51% before they stopped having free lunch. Before it was paid for everybody. And this is for all classrooms whether they are core classes or electives. I honestly don't know how big the elective class sizes are if you keep cutting people. I think some of them are like 30 or 35 now. I would like to consider children for a moment. What do you want for your own children, grandchildren,

018nieces, nephews, or even people you work that you know that work in the system? What do you want for them? I know that what I wanted for my own children, what I want for the children I teach. Prior to COVID, we had these giant class sizes you're talking about. There's a big difference between having 20 to 22 to 28 in a class size. Each student above 18 impacts the classroom. You're not accounting for transiency, either. This year we had nine new students come in. So, if there's three teachers on a team, 28 becomes 30 really fast. And obviously for somebody, possibly more. And there have been years when I've had 12 to 15, sometimes even 20 new students in a year. So, you're not counting for transiency. In addition, when you're a teacher in writing,

019you can give more time to students when you have 20 students opposed to 30. Each student above 18 impacts the classroom. Back to considering children. As one of my teacher friends says, children are not macaroni boxes. They don't come to school with the same home lives, the same abilities, or the same language skills. They just don't. And we've all seen a huge uptick in angry or dysregulated students. Students that need a great deal more than one classroom teacher will be able to give. We need the support staff. Your children need the support staff. Think about your own families. When you had one child and potentially second or third, how much did that change your your home life? Think of a classroom in addition of eight to 10 students. There will be a huge impact, huge.

020Is this what you want for your own families? It isn't what what I want for your children. It isn't what what I want for my students. I absolutely do not want this for our students. Class sizes absolutely matter. A long time ago, I was an engineering teacher. My first year, the budget was $10,000. My second year was five, the third is 3,000. For the next three, it was $0. I kept it going with my own money, going to yard sales, and begging everybody I could beg to get stuff for my classroom. It was later cut, as was family consumer sciences. Fast forward to when I was teaching English. When I first started, there was a bulletin board paper. That stopped pretty quickly. When I was an English teacher, I had to have books for my

021library. I had about 1,400 because I used DonorsChoose, but that was quickly stopped because I was told, "We're going to make Methuen look poor." I think we can say we have a problem here, people. That was 10 plus years ago. Now, what's going to happen with these new cuts? It's not just going to be teachers. It's going to be supplies. It's going to be other things we need. And, to change the subject a little, I want people to move to Methuen that have will have add to our tax base. And I don't know about you, but the first question I asked when I moved here was, "What are the schools like?" I absolutely looked at that first. And most people buying homes that are considering having families are going to do that as well. We

022can't keep doing things like this. We can't. Methuen is a place we like A long, long time ago, when I was in Lawrence, and people who worked there can attest, this is how it happened. It went like this, and then slowly over time. It didn't happen all at once. It's been happening to Methuen on years. You have to stop the bleeding here, people. You have to. Like stop the pain, support the schools, and stop the cuts. Like I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but we have to find a way not to keep doing this. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Sarah. Maria Figueroa. Hi, good evening, everyone. My name's Maria Figueroa. I live at 10 Hughes Road in Methuen. I just wanted to make yet again another public plea as you guys

023talk about budgets and needs for the community and our schools, the audit. $140,000 for an audit that no one seems to want to talk about in the public still wants answers. I get that you redacted it. I've asked for that it's please be shared with all the new um school committee members, chairs, Sarroices, Byases. Everyone should be privy to that information. I think to talk about the deficiencies that the city has, you have to get to the root and the core of the problem. I think the audit will help us there. So, I'm just asking again, yet making a public plea, please let's talk about that audit as we look into moving along with the budget as well. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Maria. Colleen Maller. Hi. You guys hear me okay? Um

024good evening. Uh 13 Bonnie Way Drive. I am both a resident of this community and an educator uh working within the our city school system. As both a resident and a teacher, and as a parent whose own children went through this school system, I have seen firsthand the negative impact that not prioritizing a school school system can have. I want to express my deep concern regarding the budget deficit and the potential impact it will have on our students, our staff, and the overall quality of education in Methuen. I want to say that I am proud to be a public school teacher. It's all I've ever wanted to be, which is why it's especially difficult to witness the challenges our schools are currently facing and the toll that it's already taking on both our students and

025staff. From my perspective in the classroom, I've seen firsthand how critical adequate funding is to student success. Resources, staffing levels, support services, and extracurricular opportunities all play a vital role in creating a safe and effective learning environment. A deficit of this magnitude raises huge questions about foresight and planning, particularly because this appears to be a recurring pattern in this city. We simply cannot and should not accept a single staff reduction, increased class size, or reduction in programming. I invite all of you, in order to truly understand the magnitude of even considering staff reductions, all of it, class sizes, and cuts that support our most vulnerable students, I invite every member of you in front of me tonight to put boots on the ground inside a classroom for 1 day. Come in to witness the challenges

026we face every single [applause] day. These changes would not only affect educational outcomes, but also place additional strain on educators, all of us behind me, who are already working tirelessly to meet diverse student needs. Quite simply, we cannot continue to take from a system that is already stretched thin because you can't take from what's already empty. We're already facing significant staffing challenges. Many positions are all remain unfilled, and we're operating short-staffed. It's becoming increasingly difficult to attract and retain educators, and there's also a growing perception that people don't want to come to Methuen to work in the school system. Further cuts are only going to exact exas- exacerbate this issue and make it harder to provide students the support and consistency that they need. As educators, we continue to hear about the importance of increasing

027student achievement and improving reading scores. Yet, we are not creating the conditions necessary for that success to happen. Larger class sizes, fewer staff members, and reduced support services directly undermine the very goals that this district claims to value. If we truly want students to grow academically, then we have to provide schools and educators with the resources and support needed to create the environment where learning can thrive. I urge you to be assertive in advocating for our schools by demanding increased support from both the city and the state. A shortfall of this size shouldn't be addressed solely through cuts at the school level. Our students and educators deserve full and equitable funding, and it's critical that all levels of government are held accountable for meeting that responsibility. I also urge the school committee to advocate for

028the use of Methuen's free cash as a one-time solution to help close this immediate budget gap while a long-term financial plan is developed. I get it. I live in the city. I understand free cash is not a permanent fix and it should not be thought of year after year after year, but our students shouldn't bear the consequences of years of inadequate planning and underfunding. If the city can use free cash to fund services like garbage collection, then we can certainly use free cash to strengthen the school budget and protect the educational opportunities our students deserve. This crisis has to be addressed responsibly with a commitment to better forecasting, stronger collaboration, and more sustainable budgeting moving forward. I also want to acknowledge that I know this situation didn't happen overnight. The city has not equitably funded

029the school department for years and there's been a pattern of neglect when it comes to maintaining city-owned school buildings. This These long-standing issues have been compound have compounded the current financial challenges and also need to be addressed as part of any meaningful solution. I will end you with this. I will end with this. If we want a top-rate system that our students deserve, then we have to make education a priority. The strength of a school system is one of the primary factors that attracts families to a city across Massachusetts. It's the reason why my husband and I, when we got married in 1994, bought our house and chose to raise our family in this city. All three of my kids went here. Two of them graduated from this building. And they are all being And

030they are all incredibly successful adults and humans. I don't know if I can say that right now for the students that are in front of me. If we continue disinvestment, it's harming our current students and it undermines the long-term vitality and reputation of our community. Balancing the budget should not come at the expense of what the students of Methuen deserve. Thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Colleen. Ben Thompson. Good evening. My name is Ben Thompson. I live at 318 Ferry Road in Haverhill, but I work here for Methuen Public Schools. Good evening, Mayor Beauregard, members of Methuen City Council, Methuen School I'm going to sorry, and the residents and employees of Methuen. As a program assistant of This is Teacher Appreciation Week, and as a program assistant at the Marsh, I

031see all the hard work my my fellow my colleagues and I put together every day to make sure our students get the best education they can best education they can possibly receive. Unfortunately the Fortunately, the budget as presented tonight does not make us feel appreciated. Due to financial mismanagement, which as mentioned before goes decades decades, it's not just limited to the school system. We are facing a a $10 million deficit. I understand you guys have worked a lot harder to hard to minimize that. But the pain is still real. A minimum of 35 educators lost is 35 too many. And as Mayor the Mayor told Channel 4, that we are cutting from the bone, not the fat. While I'm aware of the problems and the way the city the state funds our schools, those are

032beyond our control aside from lobbying our congressmen. But there are really actions that we can choose to do at the city to minimize these the impact of this. Just recently, this week, the city council and the mayor came together to agree to set aside $850,000 to ensure that this which the city of trash gets picked up to keep it clean and safe. Well, it's been debated whether or not free cash can be used to as an emergency rainy day fund. Per Massachusetts law, it is allowed to do so. And also, we are already way more than what we need as recommended by the state to have in our free cash. While it's not a permanent solution, I think it would be to the best interest for everybody in this room, for your for sake of

033yourselves, your your the educators myself and behind me, and our student our children in the city, that we take we take the action now to incur urge the mayor education-oriented mayor and city council to use free cash as a free cash as like they did last year to minimize teacher layoffs. And take use the Look look look reflect on how we can prevent from this from being in the same place every year. Failure to do so will negatively impact Methuen for generations. The time is now. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ben. That's the last uh person who signed up on the list. Is there anybody in the audience who Dan? I need to stay on script, okay? Hi. Uh Dan Trevilian, 22 Riverview Ave. So, there's a lot of emotion in the room, and there's

034going to be a lot of emotion at the Great Hall, and all of it's very justified. Um I know better than most in this community how much it sucks to sit in your seats and have to decide who you're going to hurt to balance a budget. Because it's just one of the worst feelings in the world when you know that you can't do anything to solve the problem short of winning the lottery. Um it's you know it's helpless and and angry. And despite some of us in our different differing views, we all did this for the same reason. Because we all wanted to do something good and I think that everyone agrees that nothing that's happening right now is good. You've been on the law So you're going to be on the receiving end of

035a lot and the council will be on the receiving end of a lot and I hope they're watching tonight. I mean, I doubt it, but I hope they're watching tonight because it's it's going to continue because this is Groundhog Day in Methuen. Whether anybody in this room is willing to admit it, we all know how this ends unless the state comes out and bails us out like they did last year. We all know that it's going to end in the same way. The frustrations you and the council will hear are warranted from teachers, from parents, and hopefully from students who come up to those microphones and speak their peace. Every single one of them and I think we need to remember that before we make comments and judge the red shirts in the audience and

036the speeches that you hear. But we need to remember that you guys chose these jobs. You, the mayor, the city council, we all knew what we were signing up for when we ran for office. We knew how much we were inheriting that was built or failed to be built over decades of neglect in this city. It's not the last 2 years, it's not the last 6 years, it's decades of systematic neglect. We treated education like a simple line item and a number on a spreadsheet. Something you can cut when things got tough and then maybe restore it later. The problem was we never really restored it. But education is never simple and it never will be. And it's not the same school or the same atmosphere that I was in when I graduated high school

037in 2004 or you guys in what, '06, '07 or any of you at any point in time. It is a very different world right now. The city has spent years refusing to see itself what it actually is, a growing urban city and not the small town that people want to hold on to for their memories. The needs of our kids and our families and our teachers, they reflect the reality whether we like it or not and we have chronically repeated and failed to catch up. But just like member of the letter said, probably what, 5 million times, we need to stop letting our friends on the hill get off the hook because they deserve every bit of the anger, too. You thought I was going to give you a cheap shot, didn't you? >> [laughter]

038>> Yeah. Uh so, the governor knows chapter 70 broken. She knows it. They all know it. They sit on Beacon Hill and they do nothing except talk about talk about fixing it every budget cycle. The Student Opportunity Act was supposed to change things. It's not working like it was designed and they ignore it. Special education reimbursements, rates that are set by the state, the same state that also sets our chapter 70 rates are not keeping up with the inflation. OSD rates went up what was it, four and a quarter or something percent this year when chapter 70 went up two and change? It's not keeping pace. Every student and every parent standing in this room has a right to be furious and so do you and so does the mayor and so does the council.

039You guys are stuck holding the bag and I know how much that is I know how frustrating that is. Some of it's our fault because Methuen, in typical Methuen fashion, has done not much to change and evolve in past years. Some of it was handed to us and some of it came from the suits in the city. So, the question as I was sitting there thinking about this when I wrote this down was, "So, so what do we do now?" And my my thought is that it's time for the era of toxic positivity to die. The everything is fine, we keep smiling, don't air the dirty laundry era, I think needs to go to the wayside. It's protected no one and it's fixed nothing. And it's just making skeletons comfortable in the closet. Our teachers

040need to stand up and be loud, not whisper it in parking lots and in in restaurants because we all hear the stories. And if the governor heard these stories and spent a day in these classrooms, I don't think she would shortchange the budget on inflation anymore. We hear the stories about classrooms being evacuated, some of them multiple times a day. Children throwing chairs through walls and windows. Dangerous situations where teachers are getting kicked, punched, bruised, bitten, bleeding in hallways and in classrooms. It's it's the reality of what they're dealing with every morning. Or not every morning, every day. And the people on Beacon Hill, the ones controlling the money, will never know it unless we stand up, make a lot of noise, and attract all the dirty attention that we can. The city is not

041going to be able to solve this problem. Even using free cash right now doesn't fix it because there's nothing this mayor is going to be able to do or the city council is going to do to generate all the money we need to replace that come the FY28 budget. We need to turn the aggression and the volume way up to get the attention of Boston, to get the attention of the governor, drive the media out, and have people know what's happening in the classrooms. Now, I understand there there there are student privacy policies and everything else that need to be protected. I know the legal lines, but there's a way to tell the story and we need to find a way to use it. We need to make enough noise that the governor and every

042state rep and senator can't look away because right now they look away every year after every budget cycle, and we let them because we can't be heard. There's plenty of blame to go around on every counselor, every school committee member, and every mayor that has come before. But we did nothing to avoid this, and I think now it might be time to try something a little crazy and a little drastic. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Dana. Is there anyone else who wishes to speak? Hello, I I would just like to reflect on what the first speaker said, Tom Myers. My name is Matt Bock, and I think that the point about class size increasing is really important from a financial perspective. If these cuts go through, obviously class size is going to skyrocket,

043and delivering services to students, especially the most disadvantaged students, the most vulnerable students, the students who require the most services, are going to be very difficult, and that is probably going to result in litigation that's going to be costly to the school district. So, savings in terms of cuts are not going to be long-lasting. They're going to become exponential costs to the district. The second thing I want to reiterate that we've heard a lot about is free cash. Methuen is an outlier in the Merrimack Valley in free cash. I work in Andover, which is a very stingy community in terms of their free cash, and they don't have nearly as much as Methuen. The only way you accumulate that type of free cash is if you're skimming off of the public budgets in the first

044place and hoarding >> [applause] >> hoarding free cash uh off of the backs of your workers and your community members and the students who deserve those services. Now, you may not as a school committee have the ability to directly effectuate a transfer of free cash into your coffers, right? That's not within your purview. However, it is within your purview to vote down whatever suggested cuts are coming in this situation. You do not have to be complicit with this nonsense. And that's exactly what the hoarders of free cash want. They want the stamp of the approval of the school committee to say this is okay, we'll make do with what we got. So, you should vote down that budget that includes these cuts. You should say no and you should not go easy into that type

045of degradation of the public schools in Methuen. >> [applause] >> Hi. Um Laura Peck, this is Cecilia Peck. Um we're at 14 Coachman Lane in Methuen. Um and I'm an educator in a neighboring district. Um I My husband has been toying with the idea of moving. We've only owned our home for 2 years and I have been very adamant that I would like my daughter to go to the comprehensive grammar school in Methuen because of all of the wonderful things I've heard about it. I am an Amesbury native. I didn't grow up in Methuen. Um but recently with all of these cuts, um it's more and more tempting to move out. Um I am a specialist teacher. I'm a music teacher, an elementary music teacher in my district. And because class sizes don't apply to

046my content, I am in environments with more than 30 children in them because of integration. And I understand fully what the difference between a 22-kid classroom and a 32-kid classroom is or even a 30 because I see them back-to-back on a daily basis. I know what I want for my child and her education. She'll be at the comprehensive grammar school in 3 years if this is where we stay. And no, thank you. And she had a long day of daycare and I had a long day of teaching. Excuse us. But I know that that's not what I've ever imagined for my child's education. And unfortunately, some of these cuts are very similar to cuts that have been proposed in other districts and thankfully not gone through fully. But um in our my district, we are

047going through a very similar situation where free cash has not been used. And it needs to be. It needs to be. And but just needs to be fully funded in the first place in order to provide the education that our children deserve and the services that our children deserve in the first place. But since that's not currently the case, this free cash has to be used in the meantime in order to allow time for a temporary time for a permanent solution. But unfortunately, this budget as it is currently and these cuts are not practical. Again, I'm not a Methuen native and I've only lived here for 2 years and these cuts are like really really concerning to me as somebody who only has 3 years until she's in these schools. So please please think about

048who will be moving here, who will be moving out of here if these cuts happen because um the people who are looking into the education systems when they move will not move here with these cuts. Um Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening, school committee members, um superintendent, mayor. Um Noreen Fleming and Johnson, 11 Wayside Ave. I am the uh seventh-grade math teacher at the Timony. I have three students in the Timony. I have one in the high school, and I have an MHS graduate. And forgive me, while I do teach middle school students, I am afraid of speaking in front of adults. Um I would uh request that in this budget discussion that the school committee reopen and rediscuss our one-to-one um Chromebook policy. Um I believe that we should go back to carts

049for K through six definitely, K through seven probably. Um I know from a quick Google search that the city puts out a um request for um bids on over 1,000 Chromebooks a year at a cost of over $300,000 a year for those Chromebooks on four-year leases. With that and with all of the different apps and websites that we have um memberships and subscriptions to, that's probably four teaching positions. And I would rather my children have um paper and pencil and a lower school elementary um health teacher or an upper school Spanish teacher than have a Chromebook that comes home every day. Um if any of you are interested, I'd be more than happy to talk your ear off about all the reasons sending Chromebooks home with kids every day is a terrible decision, but I

050will do that when I'm not on camera. Thank you very much. >> [applause] [applause] >> Is there anyone else who wishes to speak who didn't sign up? Good evening. Laurie Amico, I work at Branch Street as a PA. These proposed budget cuts are a direct hit to the students who need our support the most. Balancing the city's budget on the backs of our kids is entirely unfair, especially when they are paying the ultimate price for administrative failures that they did not create. We hear the statistic constantly. 70% of our students are not reading at grade level. But let's be completely honest about what got us here. The real failure started in the city council where 100% of those professionals could not read the contracts before them. If they had possessed the adult, professional, and basic

051math and literacy skills that we are asking our children to have, we would not be in this mess today. The officials faced absolutely no accountability for their negligence, but our students are carrying the weight of those oversights today and tomorrow and for every day going forward until we can get our acts together. I'm begging each of you to the on the school committee to step up. Use your adult and professional math and critical thinking skills to protect our classrooms. Stand up for these kids and be the heroes that they need right now. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Is there anyone else who wishes to speak? If not, we'll close the public hearing portion of the meeting and we'll move on to the adoption of the uh fiscal year 2017 budget. Um so what I'm

052going to do is uh we have uh several different aspects of the budget that we need to formally take a vote on. So what I'll do is uh at this point, let's entertain a motion and a second to adopt the operating net school spending uh portion of the budget then we can get to engage in discussion. And uh Superintendent, do you have a thought? I we were just wondering if you maybe needed to motion to close the public hearing first. So I don't think that that's a parliamentary But like we need to take a vote on >> to make sure we're following procedure. Sure, of course. Um So you know, I guess uh out of out of an abundance of caution, I'll entertain a motion to close the public hearing. So moved. Okay. All right.

053Motion's from uh member Bias, the second is from member Donovan. Um and we'll go into the adoption portion. All those in favor? I. Opposed? All right, the eyes have it. The public hearing is officially closed. So now at this point, I'll entertain a motion and a second to adopt the operating net school spending aspect of the budget. So this was all posted in the Tribune. And so uh what we'll do is uh we'll share the number and this is again based on um the Tribune posting the operating net school spending aspect of the budget, not including charge backs, is $106,590,457. Uh do we have a motion and a second? Do we have a motion and a second? So moved. Second. All right, the motion's from member Keegan, the second's from member Serroice. Uh we'll open

054it up for discussion. Uh we'll hear from the vice chair. Mr. Goslin, this number reflects the 118 that you are we're we're proposing. It reflects the number that we had on Tuesday. Which is not the mayor's >> Minus about $30,000. And this is not the mayor's number. This is not the mayor's number. Correct. This is approximately $4.5 [clears throat] million off. Yeah. And the reason for that uh is because we don't have the numbers from the state yet. And if this numbers that we're projecting come through, we could see either more or less than that number, correct? Yeah, we can get more or less, yeah. But that's not the $4.5 million difference, is what I'm trying to get at. It's not that number is not what the state's giving us as of right now. That

055difference. I just wanted it for the record. And so I know we've talked about one-time expenses going to city hall. Is that something that has been proposed in the last 2 days to move forward with in the coming weeks with the city council? I believe the mayor has a a list of one-time costs of tuitions of students who are aging out as well as their transportation, which would be considered a one-time cost. As well as um in this budget we have $250,000 in unemployment, which last year the city council was gracious enough to assume that cost so that we could take it out of our budget. So, those those items are uh in the mayor's hands as far as I know. And what's the grand total of that number? I would right off the top

056of my head a little bit less than 1.2. So, 1.2 million coming from free cash potentially. So, mayor, a quick question for you. Is there an ordinance or resolution proposed before the close of the fiscal year to have 1.2 million in front of the council to move over for free cash? So, the the deadline to submit agenda items for the next meeting and any subsequent meetings is coming up on Tuesday. So, that would be something that we would submit to the council in keeping with all the other agenda items for potentially the next regular meeting or at least a regular meeting between now and the end of June. Um that is certainly something that I'm willing to pitch to the city council. Um now, I I want to mention that uh the thinking and I

057guess the the mechanical aspect of how that works is that that would help to alleviate some of the money that is coming out of circuit breaker so that can in essence stay within the bucket >> Yep. and uh continue to uh provide some help. Uh so, that's something that uh would be before the city council at a a regular meeting between now and the end of the fiscal year in June. Okay. Thank you. Um I'm all set. Thank you. >> And that's not uh this is separate from the constellations discussion that I know everybody is uh is likely to mention. And that And yes, that investment is separate from the budget. Right. Correct. So, I just want to make sure that that number isn't part of this, either. Okay. I'm all set. Thank you. Member

058Willett. I'm just very disheartened that uh our unions did not provide any solutions to this process. We know collectively, I've said it the last 3 years, that um there's major issues on Beacon Hill in terms of funding the localities, both on the municipal side and the school side. Uh mass budget, and I would recommend anyone to reach out to them to corroborate what I'm saying. There's a deficit of 7 to 8 million dollars, an inflationary gap, because of the inflation rate that accumulated uh during the Biden years in the amount of 20%. So, when you talk about a 7 to 8 million dollar gap, and you go through the packet we received, when you're talking about special education, transportation, and services, and utilities, and other things that we have to as a district provide, okay?

059That gap would have tackled those deficiencies. Okay? When you're talking about a massive surplus to the millionaires tax that's being diverted for other purposes, they're not listening on Beacon Hill. You have a massive union membership compounded by families and neighbors. Your fight is not with us. We all sympathize with you. This is devastating. I the past, right? We tried to resolve uh the budget crisis through concessions from the unions in order to avoid layoffs. I have taken no heart in the fact that I've had to engage in layoffs since I returned back to the school committee. I take it very personally. But I've also mentioned the same speech again and former member Sibelia highlighted it and your own union president highlighted it last year. It's not the school committee, it's not the mayor, it's not

060the city councils council where your fight is. Your fight is with Beacon Hill. Now they'll provide numbers to you but last year there was an amendment offered both on the house side and the senate side that would have boosted chapter 70 by an additional 200 to 300 million dollars. That failed. And it was the education chair that provided the amendment. The speaker of the house and the senate president and the governor failed to add 200 to 300 million dollars to shore up our communities. I mean, I offered solutions about the GIC and as a philosophical disagreement, I understand that. But state troopers, professors, nurses assigned to state hospitals, firefighters with MassPort, they're all part of the GIC. Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen and Andover are part of the GIC. I was part of the GIC for

06124 years. I would never voluntarily join a system right, if unless I could tell you that I had absolutely no problems with that system. I raised two kids. It was part of Harvard Pilgrim. That's a concrete solution. On the website, the Facebook page for your association, you concede that free cash is not a long-term solution, but yet this year, like last year, we want to go back to that piggy bank and expect that the taxpayers to pay the difference without structural reforms. I'm sorry. Unless you tell me the justification for not joining the GIC, where you have hundreds of thousands of state workers and their families and your colleagues have joined the GIC, okay? A non-starter. I had emails from teachers, unfortunately, that recommended cutting reading specialists or jacking up parking fees. One case says,

062"Yeah, definitely have parking fees in Methuen High School." You know what we are compared to Haverhill? We're a five times Haverhill. They're $10 per kid. Before I went back to the school committee, it was $100. I got it down to 50. Okay? You have 51% of your population of students is qualifies for free and reduced lunch. And a gentleman made reference to Andover versus Methuen. Are you serious? Or North Andover? You want to look at the per capita, reach out to the Pioneer Institute. There's an intern here that they'll give you the data. You think we're Lexington or North Andover or Andover? And I never heard, in all my years of public service, that having a free cash reserve is a bad thing. Like, shame on you if you have a if you have a

063recession, you know, you're going to have you're going to have massive layoffs. Back in 2008, right? We had our municipal workers had to give 10% in order to save the jobs. You verify that. Okay? No one wants to provide concessions. Our true teachers did it during COVID. 10%? You have doubled I'm not going to engage in cross debate. I'm not going to engage in >> to maintain order. Okay. >> Just we need order. >> All right. Okay. Again, if you want to have a separate conversation with me, my phone has always been published. I had uh few emails from teachers and what they wanted to do was cut their own colleagues. You know, so that's a big crying shame where you're willing to engage in layoffs. Okay? Willing to engage in layoffs in order to

064maintain your contract. And that's fine. I I have no problem with that. I'm And personally, I went through sacrifice. I worked 24 years at the State House. I was subject to a furlough. I had pay cuts. I had zeros for many years and I have a master's degree. Okay? And I can tell you a whole bunch of other people, right? I would wish that we had solutions provided by the other side and we have not been provided solutions from the other side. So, the same speeches from last year are the same speeches this year and nobody's surprised at this table. Please. And we can go talk about decades and years past and uh police contracts and a former superintendent and everything like that. The Student Opportunity Act is not providing enough money to our schools.

065That's a fact. The Millionaire's Tax, which only garnered 52% of the vote, barely passed. That's not helping our schools. Okay? So, unfortunately, I hate this. I don't want this to be an adversarial thing, but until you provide solutions, I can't vote for this budget. I'm sorry. Thank you. Any other discussion? I think I'll go. Member Donovan. Um Uh we know that um we know, everyone at this table knows, everyone out here knows what our students and staff and families need for our kids to thrive academically, physically, socially, emotionally. And I don't think there's anyone at this table who feels good about this budget because we we are not providing what our students need. What our staff needs. Um I've been involved with Methuen schools for well over 25 years and I can't remember the years

066when we didn't lose staff or lose something because of cuts and it did feel a lot like the schools always took the brunt. And I'm also very mindful that this is a terrible time of year for the uncertainty because everyone's trying to end the year. There's a lot more challenges at the end of the school year than there are at the beginning in teaching and managing behaviors and emotions. And I'm really sorry that we are already fighting with each other. Um it's not what I want for our schools. Uh throughout the school year, well, our budget subcommittee is new and when we met and every meeting, we talked we talked Mr. Goslin, our superintendents the mayor, Ms. Bozak, Ms. Keegan and I about ways to save money and find money. Like rate create revenue and

067you know, when you're in education you really shouldn't be out fundraising. But we looked for ways to somehow bring money into our district and that went from looking at school choice, creating a remote school. Um and we found that that job was bigger than all of us and to really do something significant we would need support reform at the federal level, legislative reform reform at the state level to try to change things and and make new things. So obviously when this is all over, we need to work together to get some sort of strategic plan for not just the schools but for the city. And I hope we can reach that point. I'm hopeful that we will be getting money from the state. Every every meeting I ask Mr. Goslin, what have you heard? Um

068we know that it looks good unless something goes horribly wrong. We will be getting I don't want to say it out there maybe 4 million? Maybe three, but we'll be getting hopefully we don't but when you read the press releases from the state the state house I I'm a little more heartened. I hate that we're putting through our teachers through this blender again. Um I'm heartened by some of the conversations for the first time I've had with counselors who seem very willing to commit. It's still a rotten place to be and I am I'm so sorry we're here. I really am. But I um we'll be getting a motion soon about we will what we will support. I don't expect it to be the final number. I'm hoping we will get a little bit more.

069I'm hoping between the mayor and the city council they will find it in their hearts to give us a little from the our lot um to help us make some of these substantial changes that we need in order to move forward and provide the um what we need for our students. But I really hope we can move forward together because the discourse is not going to help us at all. Um um I know we have our lieutenant governor coming to town and next Saturday. Be a good opportunity to meet with her or be present. I plan to be there. I hope you folks will be as well. Um because we we are far more effective when we work together. And that's all. Thank you. Amber Bais. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, through you. First, I would

070like to thank everyone in the public who came up and expressed their their feelings, their emotions, whether the fact, uh the outcome. Um advocacy is always important in what you believe in. I'd also like to thank our leadership team for a process that has been awful, but at the same time you guys are doing your best in in the roles and jobs that you are doing. Now, during this process, I have tried to go line item by line item in this book, um but our administration team has probably done that 10 times more than I and know this book back and forth more than I. And today, I will attempt to do the same thing once again. But before I ask more questions that inevitably have uh straightforward answers to, I'd like to address a

071couple of things. One of those things is as Mr. Mayor you mentioned is the investment that we're looking for in our school district. Monday in our regular business meeting we'll have a presentation by Assistant Superintendent Bozak on what we believe is going to be a long-term sustainable way to move the district forward with structural reform. And I'd like to make it known and emphasize as Vice Chair DeZoglio was saying that this is separate from our operating budget as I also want to make it known that from the conversations that I've had with the City Council uh City Council members um and with the community members folks seem amenable to free cash usage in terms of uh investments that will reduce costs and possibly um generate revenue. So, with that with that piece in mind about

072the investment it is separate and that counselors seem receptive to the conversation it is not and it ha- this year at least it has not been a hostile relationship between the School Committee, the City Council, and the Mayor. Now, most likely I'm going to vote for a budget that's different than the Mayor. But I understand that the Mayor has to vote for his budget because he's presenting a balanced budget of the city to the City Council. And he I assume understands where I'm coming from. Of course. So, there as of right now I'd like to let the community know that it is not a hostile relationship between the School Committee, the City Council, and the Mayor's office because we all know the position that we're in. So, I'd like the community to refrain from creating

073unnecessary friction when we're all trying our best to find solutions. Now, to those solutions and those and and that point, structural reform is what we need and part of that is things like, for example, and um we've talked about this in prior meetings is solar. It's bus arm systems for violations of uh traffic stops, which might bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars to our district. And I know that there was uh someone in the community out there saying that bus stop arms uh might bring in in in revenue case millions of dollars. So, we have to look at that and I know, Mr. Mayor, you that the solicitor's office is working on those RFPs. And I'm going to ask you once again, um where where that stands once again. And I know it's only

074been a couple of days, but just for context for the community to know that we have been working with the mayor's office and the city council to to make those structural reforms. I'm not even going to get into the GIC, um cuz that's that's that's an ongoing process as well, but in terms of the bus arm and the solar's, where are we at? So, the I think that might be So, uh as we discussed, can everybody hear me? Okay. As we discussed at the uh last meeting, those are two RFPs that uh the solicitor's office is uh continuing to finalize. It's not expected to generate significant revenue, but again, every little bit helps. And I think we need to keep all of these different ideas uh in the mix when we think about revenue. So,

075those are things that uh will help on the margins uh for sure. Doesn't really help us with the gap that we're talking about, but nevertheless, again, uh I I thank you for pushing for that and for uh you know, ensuring that that stays at the top of mind as we talk about some other reforms as well. Um do you have any other comments? If not, I was going to hop in and share some thoughts, but Yeah, I was I was just I was just going to ask you once again, um with in conversations with the a with the acting superintendent, yourself, and a mayoral update in the last city council meeting, you mentioned an audit of our special education system. Um and now that we have a lot of educators, parents, community members in the

076room, um if if through you if if you would like to give an a general update once again on and elaborate a little bit on that cuz perhaps more people are watching today. Sure, thank you for that. So, uh you know, I think that this is a good opportunity to share some background uh regarding why we're in the situation that we're in, but also um I think this is a good opportunity to talk about how we need to shake things up in terms of the way that we're thinking about school funding, city government, uh etc. So, uh if you look at our school budget, the three biggest drivers of cost, and we we know this. It's the same uh case every year. Uh we have these out-of-district special education tuitions that we are uh you

077know, providing services. Of course, we're legally and morally obligated to provide. Uh but, there are certain cases in which uh some of these placements are uh costing the city a tremendous amount of money. Uh there's one organization that we pay $3.5 million to to provide services to 13 students, for example. Uh and so, these are things that are mandated by uh law, but at the same time, we don't receive, I think, the extent of the assistance that we really should be receiving as a community if we're required to provide these services as we are. So, from special education to transportation, we look at the contract for bussing, et cetera. And then, of course, we have contractual obligations which we are committed to ensuring is covered in the budget. Now, the challenge that we have is

078a math problem that is not unique to Methuen. This isn't something that Methuen is alone in dealing with, where we've had cuts in federal funding thanks to the Trump administration. I'm just going to say it. And then, beyond that, state aid through Chapter 70 is increasing 2.3% and if you were to look at the number initially provided in in order to maintain level services, that amount, factoring in special ed, factoring in transportation, factoring in contractual obligations, all told, represents an 11% increase. So, when you have federal aid going down, state aid going up, sure, but going up to the tune of 2% roughly, and then the level service budget's going up 11%. The math just does not work. And the difference between Methuen and other communities, when you look at, say, Lexington, they're dealing with

079tremendous budget issues, significant school budget issues, namely. You know, these other municipalities, they've invested in education over time, well above and beyond that school spending in in many cases. And so, that's why I've heard this from others in the public. I know this is a quote I've heard Dan use, but it's the truth, where in Methuen, whenever we have to make cuts, we don't cut from fat, we end up cutting from bone. And that's the challenge that we have. And that is something that does make Methuen different from all the other municipalities that are dealing with similar issues. And the challenge with our school budget is that we are reaping decades of underinvestment in our schools. This goes back many years and ultimately when you have revenue not keeping up with the drivers of cost

080uh and you have this cumulative underinvestment over time what we have is a fundamentally broken system that is in need of deep structural reforms and that's the conversation that we're having. Remember Bias has been a tremendous advocate uh for the discussion about potential energy savings through solar, uh through the school bus stop arm program, but then beyond that you know, we're talking about the prospect of an investment in constellations with the hope of bringing some of those out of district placements back into our district which would get us I think to a more sustainable place long term assuming that uh we're able to bring those families back in. We're talking about health insurance. This is something that is I think a little bit of a a difficult uh point of contention at the very moment

081uh given some other issues in that regard, but you know, we need to have a sustainability conversation in the context of health insurance where uh for ex- a good example of uh the challenge that we have uh in that regard is that we have a self-funded plan. So, we we pay for all of our own claims, right? And right now in the city of Methuen we're operating at a 110% loss ratio. I explained this during a recent meeting where that means that for every dollar we take in in premiums collected we're paying out a dollar and 10 cents in claims which is simply not sustainable. Again, math that just doesn't work. And so, we're going to have another deficit in our health insurance trust fund this year that we're going to have to use free

082cash to help shore up, uh, just like last year and in recent, uh, points in time. And the question I'm going to get is, well, you know, why didn't we budget an additional, say, four or five million dollars on the health insurance line in the last year, last budget? My question anyone who asks that is going to be, well, were you willing last year to make four to five million dollars in cuts in say, our schools, to our police, to our fire, to all all these different issues? And so, what we're dealing with is a system that is broken. And the time for kicking the can down the road is over. And the hard decisions rest with me as the current mayor, rest with the current city council, rest with the school committee, because we

083can't keep going year after year with these tremendous structural pressures, and, uh, something has got to give. And, uh, I I just want to speak personally about where my own feelings are at with this budget. I think that what we're about to see in this city over the next week, once I present my full comprehensive, uh, city-wide budget to the council next week on Friday, uh, we are going to see a restructuring of government that we haven't seen in the city in a very long time. Including significant pain on the city side, I think for the first time, uh, since, I don't know, 2008, 2009, perhaps. Uh, and so, this is a year where the pain is literally across the board. Um and speaking as somebody who not only is a product of our public

084school system, but as a Methuen public schools parent, I have a first-grader in our schools. And over the course of the past year, given our facilities issues, given all the issues that we've had in our schools, I spent a lot of time in in these buildings, right? And and I see what our teachers experience. And you know, it's something that I'm very sensitive to. And I think that what we're discussing here in the context of the budget is terrible. And I don't think there's anybody at this table that is truly in favor of what we're talking about. And now I'm hopeful that we're going to get some help from the state at the end of the day, just like we did last year. That's something that I'm tremendously uh hopeful for. But the issue is

085that we have this budget calendar where I have to present by mandate, I have to present a balanced budget to the city council next Friday. And as a result, the number that we've been discussing, this 118, it's roughly $4 million above and beyond what I had originally provided uh to the district in terms of a number. And that is considering all of the cuts that we're going to see on the city side. Um and so I am not voting tonight on something that I think is good. I'm not in favor of it. If I wasn't the mayor and I didn't have a fiduciary obligation to submit a balanced budget to the council, I would be voting no. I'd probably be wearing a a red shirt right now on the other side of this podium if

086I wasn't in elective office. But, given the position that I'm in, I I have to present a balanced budget to the council. I have to make that very difficult choice. And so, you know, I understand we're probably going to be just reading the room. The committee's probably going to be voting for the higher number. I I I can't. I would love to join you. I truly would, but I I just can't. Um So, that is where we're at. Again, you know, given the fact that we're adopting these numbers tonight, we're going to be getting, I think, some help from the state. As I referenced, the lieutenant governor's coming. That's a great opportunity to raise awareness and try to push for more advocacy with the state. And so, despite all that, here we are tonight having

087to make very difficult decisions. So, does anybody else have any discussion before we move on? Cuz we do have to vote. Remember bias? That was a very long answer to your question. I apologize. No, no worries. No worries. I do have some two more things and and some questions for the for the admin team. So, I do apologize if I'm a little longer again. So, actually, perhaps if anybody else has, before I go ahead and and take a long time as well, if other people have second round before I do, actually. Member Sorice. So, from the very beginning, I said I would vote no 30 in a classroom. I I'm sorry. I'm getting emotional, but I have worked this district for 25 years. I have seen it go to the top, and I am not

088going to be part of seeing it come down again. It's not fair to the students. That's our number one concern are these students. And I had said from the very first budget meeting, I am not voting for a budget that's going to put 30 students in a classroom. The safety alone is just an incredible >> [applause] >> And I'm not saying it for your applause. I'm really not. That's just from the very beginning I've said I'm going to vote no. Um I understand and I respect the mayor, and I know he has a job to do, but being my first year with a budget, and I said also said from the very beginning, I don't get it. I don't get why the school has to do our budget first before the city can do their

089budget before we get any money from the state or know even how much we're getting. I I don't understand how this works. It's my first year. I'm going by what I've seen and what I've heard as being an employee of Methuen Public Schools, and and I I totally appreciate what the administration has done. I've seen them do it time after time after time. And it's not fair to you. It's not fair to the students. It's not fair to us as a committee. Are you kidding me? We have to sit here and vote for things that we don't agree with? I'm sorry. I I can't do that, and I won't do it. So, I apologize, Mayor. I apologize to the committee, but I am going to have to vote no tonight. >> Remember Kegan? This budget

090cycle has Sorry. This budget cycle has literally kept me up at night. Um, people have gotten emails from me at 1:00 in the morning um, because I am sick over this stuff. And I I have to say I think I'm with member Soros on this one. I think I'm a no vote um, and I just I can't I I can't live with myself voting for this budget. Um, so that's where I'm at. I don't There's nothing else to say. There's no money and I know there's no money and I know that the city can't give us more money. So, I know that me voting no isn't going to matter in the long run that the layoff slips have to go out in in June and they have to go out based on the mayor's number.

091So, it doesn't matter, but my my no vote is that this is not enough money to run this district and it's not safe. Thank you. So, I've been on both sides of the fence now for 10 years. For six of it I've been saying we cannot continue doing this. Organizational change needs to occur. That means redistricting, re-aligning schools. All of that could have been done in the last six to seven months, at least a plan to be discussed. Not once did it happen. The former school committee did not talk about any of that. They talked about books, they talked about policies. That's not a budget. We need to talk about this now. So, if we're going to vote no one budget, we're voting no on 114. The 118 is still below 30 in the classroom.

092If you're going to vote no, what's the number then? Cuz I'm going to if we're all going to vote no, what's the number? For the last month, we've asked them to come up with the solution, and I'm not I'm not trying to take this out on you guys. We've been working very well together. This committee is turned very much quickly around, and hopefully the community sees it. We're not bickering back and forth. We're not arguing with each other. We're collaborating. More than the other side is doing. And our relationship with the council has gotten better this year. Wish it was better with them among themselves. We need to come up with a number, folks. And if 118 isn't the number tonight, a solution needs to be put forth. Cuz I came up with this on

093Tuesday that this still is a shortfall. And no one came up and said, "Hey, let's go to 120, 125." Like let's be realistic here. We need the state numbers. It's parliamentary procedure. We need to do something here. We can reopen this budget. We can give more money. We can ask the council for more money. Another 1.2 million in free cash is going to come to us potentially on top of potentially a 4.2 million from the state. Potentially. But let's say the state comes back with a million. We're still now going to have to cut three and a half. So, we don't have a number to member Sirroices. It's parliamentary procedure. The process doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. But unfortunately, that's what we're voted in to do. As we have to come up with

094a number that we all can agree on. The mayor puts forth a budget that none of us agree on. Not his fault at the moment. But we got to stop talking about like certain things in this committee going forward. We need to look at the organizational structure of the city. On how the schools could adopt a better process. Instead of just nickel-and-diming it every year and worrying so much about some policies that we need to to to complain about for 3 months. We need true infrastructure changes here going forward. And I'll bring the union to the table for those conversations. We need to. But just to say we're going to vote no tonight, what are we voting no on? And that's the solution I need to hear from this team is what's the number. I'm

095not going to put the city in a situation either that we're going to deplete $10 million from free cash because to be fair, the mayor's going to be taking free cash for other things, too, which I wouldn't be surprised if the number of free cash dwindles below double digits this year potentially. Which God forbid we're one bridge closure away to that money being completely done. So, I'm all ears here, but I'm voting on 118 with the idea that we're going to get more. I'm not voting on 114. So, I I I I just need a direction here for this team. >> So, here's my question. So, you're say you're you're voting on the 118 expecting more, but that's not the case. You're voting on 118 hoping to get to 118 because the number that's going

096to the city council is not 118, it's 113 something, almost 114, right? So, so you're not voting on 118 hoping to get more. You're You're voting on 118 to hope to get 118. No. >> That's the reality. Well, that's part of it, but you're also looking for more. If you take $4 million plus another million, you're over the five. You're over five. You're closer to the 20 million number at almost. Okay? We're looking at future projections here. Now, the state could come back and say you're not getting okay? But I don't see that happening right now. So, let's Let's be real here. Let's lock in a number that we can at least give them a direction on than to say, "Nope, we don't have a number." Here's a question though, right? So, we vote on

097the 118, fine. Let's say it passes and we're at 118, okay? The mayor goes to the city and brings them the 114 number because that's what's what has to happen, right? Layoff notices have to go out based on the 114, not on the 118. So, our vote here tonight literally doesn't matter. It It It's meaningless. So, why are we voting? What are we doing? Like, I don't understand why we're bothering to do this. It It's a It's an a theatrical quite honestly. Like, I I just don't know what we're doing. Let's just watch our language, everybody. Let's I hear we're on Channel 5 news, guys. Come on. So, we do The president said something more than I did, okay? Let's Let's Let's not. St. Paul's sixth grade. We do have We do have a vote

098on the agenda. My mic is all messed up. Mr. Chairman. Yeah. Yes. With all due respect to the vice chair, we've had some meaningful conversations. I've been on record of consolidation of the IT department for about two or three years now, okay? And I'll consolidation of other departments. So, please with all of a sudden we didn't weren't interested in structural reforms. We didn't have the will of the committee. Now, I was in favor of limited privatization. That went nowhere. So, some people can talk a good game. But when it comes to making meaningful decisions, okay? And you your current city councilor, with all due respect, is not interested in in in joining the GIC, right? That's a a political will decision. So, I remember again, it was a couple of members and I have no

099problems with them. No adversarial relationships, philosophical disagreements. They wanted to vote for a budget strictly to abide by the wish list of the former superintendent. Okay? That was what? About $20 million gap roughly? We had to whittle that down, okay? The last two years we've had to lay off about at least 24 people if not more. The final number. Okay? We're going to anticipate layoffs of 35 people. I don't know about the municipal side because I really don't monitor the city council proceedings and their budget. I don't think you guys matched what the school department did. So, I'll put my fiscal conservative credentials to anybody in the history of Methuen. I don't want to be lectured to on things that I advocated for and provided solutions, okay? And give me a break. We We had

100good discussions, philosophical discussions about a book, right? We were dominating conversations about union negotiations and energy prices and consolidation and a battle over the IT and the legal battle that we won by the way on. Okay? So, um at the end of the day I'm not going to be assigned to say I'm a one-trick pony on social issues. I've been dealing with union negotiations um the mice situation occupied meeting after meeting and we I asked for many maintenance reports at the same time, which pains me is that our uh deputy director of maintenance we had to let go because of budget cuts, because the state doesn't uh deal with the inflationary gap. I mentioned that before. I've had conversations with that teacher. I feel absolutely terrible about it. Okay? But, don't tell me that it's

101raining and something else is being poured on my head. I've had a very good relationship with the city council. I had to correct the former chairman of the city council and I asked for information from the former superintendent that's been reinforced by the acting superintendent that we're not a top-heavy school district, okay? That's a misnomer in the community. The former vice chair I'm sorry, the former chair at the time went online and said, "There's a ton of administrators in in the schools, okay? The secretaries and member Saroyce can attest to it, right? Uh worked to the bone. Okay? The paraprofessionals were poverty wages, similar to community colleges with professors. The teachers, which I absolutely acknowledge, they were 0, 1, and 2 the last decade cuz I requested that information and I had a fight with

102member Sabille about it. I said, I wanted that information because I want to know for the record how undercut this community did to the education community. I don't know what the solutions are. I really don't. I offer solutions and I put my name on the ballot. You want to vote for me or not vote for me. I'm the real McCoy. I'll tell you the truth. I was there in 2008. Nobody was here in 2008. Maybe Ian. Right? In an administrative capacity or a school committee capacity, right? I'll tell you the horror stories. Very easily. We're going down that road. I hate to warn you. We're not even a recession. If all of a sudden the the market housing market collapses, we're in major dire straits. And like I said, I it pains me that someone

103said, "Why do you have a sizable free cash reserve?" Well, first of all, like the mayor indicated, we're cleaning up the schools after years of neglect. That wasn't the mayor's fault. That wasn't your fault in the capacity as a council or you were school committee member. It was brought to our attention from my colleagues and the teachers and they had every right to do so, right? The audit revealed that there was a culture of fear. So, they couldn't come and voluntarily mention issues with their classrooms. Top to bottom, we cleaned the classrooms. We cleaned the egress. We cleaned the corridors and the surrounding areas. We did as a a collective thing, right? But give me a break where the city council did this and you're like a white horse and a you know, thing. Give

104me a break. We worked together, all right? Let's provide some solutions and let's work together. Point of information, I just want to clarify on with Mr. Gosling, the motion that's forward right now is for the $118 million number, right? So, this is for the operating net school spending without charge back. So, it's 106590457. It is representative of a number that's above and beyond Why we're voting. I had given to the district. So, that, as I mentioned, is the reason why I have to vote no on this. I have to present a balanced budget to the council. So, what we're going to do is we're going to have to go through each aspect of the budget and take a vote separately. So, we have operating net school spending, no charge backs. We have the non-net number,

105which is the transportation contract, etc. And then we have the total operating budget. That'll be a separate vote. That's the 118 number that had been placed in the Tribune. And then we have city charge backs, the estimate for that. That represents health insurance, other costs in that regard. And then there's the total absolute bottom line number that includes the charge back. So, we'll take separate votes on all of them, but this is a discussion and a vote regarding operating net school spending, 106590457. Mr. Mayor, can I just do a point of clar- I just want to clarify this situation. Yeah, thank you. So, I just want to say I I think a lot of people heard me say it. I didn't call out anyone in this. So, you're 100% I was up for the IT

106consolidation, too. I I was sure we could talk about it. We're always that. But but what I'm getting at is that this time last year I was on another side of the fence. And I said that this number was going to be very close to what it is now. And I asked and I begged that we start doing it. And the only reason why I ran was because I would love to have fixed this problem going forward. That's why I'm here. I came back. How are you fixing the problem? We haven't gone to that point but the point is >> I just interrupt for a point of information and ask that we stay focused on the task at hand? So, my question is >> Also, the motion to move the question. >> Motion to move

107the question. I have a um a question, please. No, I just have a question just so I can better understand cuz I think we're kind of lost in the weeds right now. We have a fiduciary responsibility to move a number forward tonight. Is that accurate? May not be your number, Mayor. But you know, there's another number. >> part of our traditional process >> Right. and how it's done every year. Okay, I just want to be clear about that and we are have a budget that has been recommended with great pain and great effort by our uh leadership team. And we have the unknown of what the state will give us and we're in the same place we were last year. It's like déjà vu all over again. I just want to make sure. Okay. Thank

108you. We should take a roll call vote now. All right. Move the question. Yep. All right. Uh let's take a roll call vote on the 106 number. Again, this represents uh part of the math for the higher 118 number. Yes, right there in front of you. Nope, next one over. To your right. Was the motion to move the question seconded? Yes. Yes, there's no there's no need to move the question cuz we're proceeding to a vote. No more comments. What Just a point of information, it's based off the 106 number. Moving the question is moving it to the 106. There's seven votes here that we have to take. So, it's only on this current vote. Thank you. Member Serroice. No. Oh, member Keegan. No. Member Willett. No. Member DiZoglio. >> Yes. Mayor Beauregard. I have

109to vote no. Member Donovan, yes. Member Bias. >> Yes. Yes. All right, so technically we do not have an adopted operating net school spending number, no [snorts] chargebacks. We're going to keep going. Uh as a formality, we need to go through these votes tonight. It's on the agenda. Uh total non-net school spending, uh the number is 11 million 855,430. This is largely contractual through the transportation contract. Do we have a motion and a second? So moved. Second. Motion is from the vice chair, second is from member Keegan. Discussion? There's no discussion, we'll take a roll call vote on total non-net school spending. Member Keegan. Yes. Member Serroice. Yes. Member Willett. No. Member DiZoglio. Yes. M- Mayor Beauregard. >> Yes. Member Donovan, yes. Member Bias. >> Yes. Next we have total operating fiscal year '27 budget.

110The total number is 118,445,887. Point of information. Mayor, it's not. It's 11,000,000 8 55430 because we didn't pass the 106, we can't move forward with the 118 if I think about it correct. It would only make sense that if you voted no for the 106, you'd vote no for the 118. Correct. Okay. It's a formality. Okay. Technically only 11 million's been approved. Right, the 11 million is just transportation. So, it's included in that 118. Yeah. The 11 plus the 106. Okay. Thank you. The vote's a formality at this point. Roll call. >> [snorts] >> Member Keegan. No. Member Sarrouf. No. Member Willette. No. Member I'm sorry, Vice Chair D'Agostino. Yes. Mayor Beauregard. >> No. Member Donovan, yes. Member Bias. Yes. Next we have [snorts] city charge backs. The estimate is $23,697,481. This is an estimate,

111very likely to change, but again, as a part of the formal process here tonight, we need a motion in the second. So moved. Second. Motion is [snorts] from Member Keegan, second from the Vice Chair. Discussion. This is for the estimate for charge backs. Roll call. Member Keegan. Yes. Member Sarrouf. Yes. Member Willette. No. Member D'Agostino. >> Yes. Mayor Beauregard. >> Yes. Uh Member Donovan. Yes. Member Bias. Yes. Total fiscal year 27 operating budget. This is net and non-net plus charge backs, $142,143,368. We need a motion and a second. So moved. >> [snorts] >> Second. Motion from the Vice Chair, second from Member Keegan. Discussion. If there's no discussion, we'll take a roll call vote. Well, a point of information now. I mean, that number should be the total approved. >> Right. We shouldn't be voting

112on the 142 now. This has to be the total approved. It's a It's a It's a formality, Nick. Similar to the last time, it would make sense that if you voted no on the 106, then it would not add up to 142. So, you don't want the 142 number either. I don't want to tell people how to vote, but it would only make sense. And I'm going to have to sort this out just for everyone to be aware. I have to kind of sort this out with legal, too, because I need to submit a budget by next Friday. It has to be balanced, and Lord knows where we are right now in terms of procedure. Uh but, here we are. Roll call. >> Mr. Mayor, before that, you asked for a discussion, may I? Yes.

113Okay, sorry. I didn't get to finish earlier. I know we have to move on and adopt a budget, but I just wanted to emphasize again, um despite the fact that the state formula is broken, we have great state representatives and senators on the job. Um I'd like to thank publicly Senator Pavel Payano, currently in in doing his job in getting more funding for us. Um and we also have an This is dreadful for all of us. Nobody likes what's going on, um but I will say again, as I said in the first meeting, it is also an opportunity in terms of we are searching for a permanent superintendent. The the policy subcommittee has it has has passed recommendations to redact or or remove all philosophical statements from our policy book as to create a new

114one when we get a new super with the intention of creating new philosophical statements um with the new permanent superintendent, strategic plan is coming up to an to an end as well. So, um, ironically, a perfect storm in terms of we have an opportunity to think long-term here. So, I just want to put that out there as well. And then now I just have a few questions for you guys. Um, in terms of and I know this is already just a formality, so I I apologize, but I do have to exercise my right to to discussion here. Um, my first question is in terms of the psychologist, as if the the Timony has three and I haven't gone through this book yet. I know that those the the reductions and cuts are in the memo,

115but I I like seeing them in the book because I can see them visually. So, I apologize if my questions are outdated at this point. Um, the Timony has three guidance um, slash psychologists and I I think and uh, a psychologist as well for kindergarten. And I know other schools are look are need psychologists as well. So, why can't we and I know the the high school as well. So, why can't we move some psychologists from the Timony to other grammars or and or the high school? That's my my first of a few. So, to answer specifically for the Timony, we have one testing only school psychologist, which is where the the vacancies in the other buildings are. We happen to have two um, school counselors who are also certified psychologists, but they are providing

116direct services to students. They do a little bit of testing, but that's not what they are um, job description or role that they were hired for. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Um, next is the Timony seems to have a counselor for every grade level. Um, and that doesn't seem consistent around the district. Is there a a logic behind that? Um, that was the result of reductions from years gone by or requests that have had to be removed due to budget constraints. Okay. Um, so the high school has two secretaries. And with the budget that I voted yes on, we would be adding a bilingual parent liaison to that. Um, the grammars also have two secretaries. So, my question is if the if the high school with 1,700 students roughly can handle can handle uh with

117two secretaries, can the grammars, and again I I hate bringing this up, handle one secretary with technically half, let's say the the 900 students, um, with one secretary and one parent liaison, and we could redirect that somewhere else. I would say that that's a a common concern of families that we hear is that they sometimes have a difficult time getting in touch with the school in a timely fashion. Um, and there's several responsibilities besides, um, greeting families, which they, um, oversee. In fact, there's been requests for additional secretaries that many of the principals were being very conservative in not requesting this year, recognizing it's a tough budget season. Okay. And I uh uh just want to point out that I'm making these questions because if the state doesn't come through, then we are going to

118be looking at making cuts somewhere. So, I just want to get answers from from leadership team so I could be thoughtful in my in my synthesis and going forward in the future. My last point, um, is for my own education, the differences, um, between parent bilingual parent liaisons and a secretary. So, if you guys could just bring me through the qualifications, if any, for a secretary versus the qualifications, if any, for a parent bilingual parent liaison. I'm sure we could provide you with those full job descriptions and postings to give you the detail of those different positions. Would you say thank you that would be perfect. Would you say that the workload is is similar or or drastically different between a secretary and a parent liaison? The secretaries work within a unit and the bilingual

119liaisons are unaffiliated so by definition their roles do have to be dissimilar although they sometimes work in the same space and toward the same goal. Got you. Um So I mean I just bring this up because I know this is preaching to the choir. I'm you know the the pay difference between a bilingual parent liaison and a secretary is drastic and um to me it's it's it's kind of unfair. Especially if some of those if those roles are united in a sense and and and the workload right but again I do understand we have a budget and I just wanted to to bring that concern forward. Um So Can I just jump in? I'm I'm curious. Secretaries are full year bilingual liaisons are school year? School year with a few additional work days so typically

120they they assist in our health fair. Thank you. Um Those were those were my specific questions for tonight on in terms of of the budget for my own education and if need be for the future. Um Thank you. Mrs. Rice? Um I just a point of information. I'm not even sure how many years ago it was. We had three secretaries in each of our K through eight buildings. And we gave up one of those secretaries in one of the budget cuts, and it's like anything else. You let it go, and you never get it back. Those secretaries is one on each end of the building. There's doors that they have to be secured. They have to let people in. I I don't know in most of the schools how that would happen if you eliminated

121it and just had one secretary. Also, the secretaries are contractual, so you can't have bilingual liaisons doing secretaries' jobs. Um my other comment is I I really and truly want to thank the mayor for what he's done for our schools. Um You He came through with the money to clean up for the mice. However, my thought on that has always been if we were funded properly, we wouldn't have gotten to that situation. But I do want to thank him for getting us out of that mess because that's something that should have been funded and done quite a while ago. Um let's see. And I just want to I just want to say that I ran for school committee to stop the destruction of the school budget and the schools in our city. I have seen

122it happen time and time again. The cuts, the cuts, the cuts. I'm not sure there's there's been that many cuts on the city side. I don't know. I'm not part of their budget. I was I didn't work for them. But it at some point it has to stop. And this restructuring and what's happening in the city, it it's sad that that that's happening, too. But I really do want to thank you, Mayor, and and I don't mean to make your job any more difficult by voting no. And I know we'll come to a conclusion to this, but I just had to make a statement that I just feel that it it has to stop. It has to stop. There's nothing Your own words, we're cutting bone. There's nothing left to cut. These positions that we're

123cutting aren't even positions that we our administration had asked for to improve our schools and make them more safe. These are positions we're cutting that already existed and I hope people understand that as well. There were many positions that we needed to make our schools safe, to teach our kids to read, to educate our students, to keep our classrooms less than 30. And those you don't even see those. These are positions that exist that are being cut. And I hope people understand that that um it it just it has to stop. It just has to stop. Thank you. Is there any other discussion? If not, we'll take a roll call vote. This is the absolute bottom line total. Okay, we're ready. So, [sighs] member Keegan. No. Member Sarroice. No. Member Willette. No. Member DeZoglio. Mayor

124Beauregard. No. Member Donovan, yes. Member Bias. >> Yes. I have a feeling we'll be back here. >> Yeah, I do too. Uh we need a motion and a second to close the budget adoption. So moved. >> Second. Motion's from member Sarroice, the second is from the vice chair. All those in favor. Aye. Opposed. Uh at this point um I I guess technically also we need a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. Uh vice chair has the motion to adjourn, the second's from member Sarroice. All those in favor. Aye. Opposed. The time is 7:57 and our meeting is adjourned. Thank you. >> I love you.