School Budget Emphasizes Stability, Makes Use of Override Funds
By Ellen Putnam
Interim Deputy Superintendent Ken Kelley, left
Screenshot from MMTV
At this week’s School Committee meeting, school officials presented their proposed budget for the 2026-27 school year (Fiscal Year 2027, or FY27). Although the city’s full budget will not be made public until later this spring, the school budget offers a glimpse of how some of the funds from the $13.5 million override voters passed in November will be spent in FY27.
Specifically, the funds that the city contributes to the Melrose Public Schools (MPS) budget have increased by over 20%, or $6.18 million, relative to FY26. (In contrast, the city’s contribution to the schools rose by less than $1 million from FY25 to FY26.) The amount that MPS receives from the state in Chapter 70 education aid is only expected to rise by 2.2% this year, based on preliminary estimates from the state budget process, resulting in a total increase of 12.5% in the MPS budget over last year.
MPS Revenue Sources, FY24-27
(Residents should remember that, because costs within the school budget generally increase at least 2-3% each year, if not significantly more, funding the school budget at the same level from one year to the next results in cuts to services, and often staffing reductions. It’s also worth noting that a number of costs that support the schools are housed in the city budget, including employee benefits, school nurses, custodians, and capital improvements and repairs.)
Over the last few months, as they prepared next year’s budget, Superintendent Cari Berman and Interim Deputy Superintendent Ken Kelley have shared that their focus has been on stabilizing the school budget, which had seen over 40 positions eliminated over the last two years due to significant gaps between revenue and the funding required to maintain the previous level of staffing and service.
This year, with enough funds available from the override to restore staffing levels to approximately where they were in the 2024-25 school year (FY25) (but not to reverse all of the cuts that have been made since the 2023-24 school year - FY24), district leadership have been aiming to make strategic investments where they are expected to have the largest impact, based on available student data.
Cumulative change in staffing levels at MPS schools, FY24-27
In December when Berman and Kelley presented the supplemental budget for the $3.8 million in override funds that went directly to the MPS budget, they stated their intention to create 17 new positions that would carry over into the next school year. Some of these positions have already been filled, and they can be seen in next year’s budget:
- One teacher position at each of the six elementary schools (Franklin, Hoover, Horace Mann, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Winthrop);
- The equivalent of one administrator position, allowing the Lincoln and Roosevelt Schools to each have a full-time assistant principal and a half-time special education coordinator;
- Two English teacher and two math teacher positions at Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School (MVMMS);
- One English, one math, and one science teacher at Melrose High School (MHS);
- One World Language teacher to be split between the two secondary schools;
- One secondary curriculum coordinator;
- And one position that has not yet been hired and will be determined - both in the school(s) they will serve and what the position will be - based on student need.
District leadership plan to have MVMMS and MHS continue under the leadership of Principal Jason Merrill, with Merrill’s and Deputy Principal Bryan Corrigan’s time split between the two schools. They will continue to be supported by two Assistant Principals at MVMMS and one Assistant Principal and one Dean of Students at MHS.
Funding levels for MPS budget categories, FY24-27
Note that the Administration/Districtwide category carries the funds for unresolved contracts, which means that budget area sees significant increases in contract negotiation years
One question that remains unresolved is the outcome of the ongoing contract negotiations between the School Committee and Units A (teachers), B (secretaries), and C (paraprofessionals) of the Melrose Educators Union. Collective bargaining sessions are scheduled for April 8th and 30th and May 13th, which means that contracts could remain unresolved well after the School Committee votes on the budget and the City Council begins their own budget process.
A number of Melrose teachers - many of whom are also Melrose residents and school parents - spoke during the public comment section of this week’s meeting to express their concerns about how the negotiation process is going. (Collective bargaining sessions are not open to the public, and School Committee members cannot speak about ongoing negotiations.)
Specifically, teachers argued that the current contract’s pay scale inadequately compensates them for years of experience and additional education, and expressed disappointment that more of the override funds are not slated for increasing teacher compensation.
The School Committee also continued their discussion of fees that began at their last meeting. Two parents came to public comment to speak against eliminating the 3:30 pickup for Education Stations, which Kelley noted was a logistical and staffing consideration, rather than a budgetary one. The School Committee plans to discuss the issue further at their next meeting.
