We are facing the biggest budget crisis in years, but it is not helpful when political firebombs are lobbed at each other. Now is the time to lower the political temperature in the room, pass a compromise budget that will still cause considerable pain to the school system, bring clarity and certainty to the process through lower layoffs, and concentrate our efforts on structural reforms in FY 2026.
It is certainly not productive to hurl insults on the elected school committee and teachers for navigating a very difficult fiscal climate. When the state refused to fund students simply because they arrived after October 1st, that automatically created a $2 million shortfall for our system. When Holy Family Hospital abandoned its profit status, that represented a loss of $1 million in annual taxes.
When the Governor denied natural gas pipelines and rushed through a radical climate change agenda, utility expenses automatically increased for all consumers.
When regional transportation vendors were forced to pay more in gasoline prices and health insurance costs due to the questionable actions of a prior national administration, that inevitably spiked the bottom line of the lowest qualified bidder.
And when my colleagues worked countless hours, in good faith, to settle two major contracts after a decade of concessions from teachers and paraprofessionals, now is not the time to question that open and transparent process.
Despite the disgusting deficit of $4 million under a prior superintendent, the retention rate of teachers has remained an impressive 88%. That shows incredible dedication by our teachers, regardless of the political turmoil and volatile funding at times.
Our school budgets over the last two fiscal cycles have been underfunded, based on inflation, by a whopping $12 million. Name me a local school system that hasn’t been harmed by the abject failure of the House Speaker and the Senate President to at least partially address the inflation monster.
When MTA President Max Page recently spoke before the Methuen City Council, he reinforced what I have been stating for the last two years—that the State House must contribute substantially more to local education. He pledged his ongoing commitment to have his 115,000 members continue the collective fight on Beacon Hill to save our public schools.
Mr. Page could have assessed all the blame on our local officials, but I think he realizes that gateway communities are suffering the most, to the tune of a nearly $300 million inflationary gap in the Chapter 70 rate of growth. That is not sustainable by any metric.
I am grateful to Senator Pavel Payano for signing onto two budget amendments, which would have added $200 million to Chapter 70 and increased the Circuit Breaker reimbursement rate from 75% to 90%.
Unfortunately, the Senate President didn’t deem them worthy of final adoption. Please note that our school district is fully responsible for the initial threshold of $52,000 per out of district placement, so after that redline has been met the state will only then kick in 75% of funding.
Our profoundly disabled student population has skyrocketed over the last 10 years, along with sizable increases to our English Language Learners. Yet no significant revisions to the Educational Reform of 1993 have been codified into law to account for the seismic changes to our student makeup.
Let me be perfectly clear. No one was happy with the compromise school committee budget package. Under our compromise plan, layoffs would still take a toll on our district. It still creates a structural deficit that would require tapping into our cash reserves.
And it is only a stopgap measure in the absence of structural reforms, community revenue enhancers, and more state aid.
Out of the 14 budgets that I have voted on as a Methuen city councilor and school committee member, this is one that goes against my conservative principles by resorting to one-time revenue streams. Believe me, I have voted against inflated budgets and tax increases in the past.
However, with the prospects of potentially laying off over 50 educators and support staff under the alternative pathway, I was compelled to seek common ground with a fragile coalition. I also could not in good conscience vote for full funding of our schools, which would essentially wipe out our cash reserves.
Please be aware that I have advocated, for decades, for our community joining the Group Insurance Commission, as health insurance is a budget buster. I am prepared to declare school properties surplus to replenish the cash reserves of our municipal partners. I am ready to vote on a more realistic solar energy proposal that isn’t overly reliant on roof placements, especially considering massive snowstorms and periodic repairs.
I am even open to pot dispensaries in Methuen to partially make up for the elimination of a tax base at Holy Family Hospital.
And I challenge anyone to review my columns, my public meeting remarks, and my social media postings for any personal attacks on either the Mayor or the Methuen City Council. That is simply not how I conduct my public service.
There is a process for reform measures that require both formal city council and school committee approval. That is ironclad in state law. But if you present me with a consolidation proposal that includes a verifiable cost benefit analysis and has been vetted by our CAFO, I will absolutely give it my full attention. And the unions should immediately offer to sit down in negotiations on achieving that 70% threshold to join the GIC like our counterparts in Haverhill and North Andover. Double-digit increases in health insurance costs, while we receive subpar Chapter 70 monies, will overwhelm nearly every municipal budget across the Commonwealth.
I would encourage everyone to read the Boston Foundation GIC analysis and truly understand the full potential savings of millions of dollars in Methuen.
I remain committed to listening to my constituents, avoiding diatribes aimed at my elected colleagues who are grappling with difficult choices at the Searles Building, and studying constructive solutions. ◊