On March 2, the School Committee, including Mayor Marc Laredo, met with Superintendent Anna Nolin and NPS Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Liam Hurley in a public but unrecorded budget meeting at the Education Center. The meeting was also attended by Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Ayesha Farag and observed by Newton Teachers Association President Michael Zilles, NTA Second Release Officer Ryan Normandin, Fig City News, and one member of the public.
The discussion centered on a 41-page presentation from Dr. Nolin and Mr. Hurley that consisted of:
- A summary of system efficiencies and cost reductions achieved and anticipated from 2026-2030,
- Various district cost metric comparisons with other Massachusetts school districts, and
- Most significantly, a Fiscal Year 2027 (September 2026 – June 2027 school year) forecast with budget requests from NPS.
Important context for the presentation was contained in a February 25 memorandum from NPS to the Committee, which reported that in the current school year, NPS is running at a financial deficit, most significantly due to higher-than-forecasted costs for substitute teachers and more students moving into Newton who require Individualized Education Program (IEP) aides. This year’s deficit has resulted in a hiring freeze (except for IEP aides as required by law) and a spending slowdown announced to NPS staff on February 11.
The dialog and materials in the March 2 meeting showed that the City has indicated an FY 2027 budget allocation to NPS of $314.8 million — a relatively large increase, compared with recent prior years — representing 5.75% over FY 2026. However, this $314.8 million is $2.5 million below the $317.3 million FY 2027 allocation that NPS is presently stating is required to continue this year’s level of services next year. If Dr. Nolin’s “Bridge to Thrive” educational improvement initiatives for FY 2027 were implemented, the total budget…