Education

Newton schools may cut up to 74 jobs to due to a budget gap and declining enrollment

Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said the city will work with the district to attempt to find more funding.

Suzanne Szwarcewicz with students in her classroom at Countryside Elemantary School in Newton on Feb. 8. Tony Luong/The New York Times

By Christopher Gavin

2 minutes to read

Newton Public Schools may have cut up to 74 staff positions as the district sees declining enrollment and works to close a budget gap for fiscal year 2023, Superintendent David Fleishman said this week.

At a School Committee meeting on Monday, Fleishman said the district is facing a “very challenging budget year ahead.”

With a funding gap, the district may need to cut between 50 and 60 positions, and another 12 to 14 jobs to account for a drop in enrollment, primarily at the elementary level, he said.

Major factors fueling the budget shortages include an “unexpected increase” in health insurance plans, a rise in substitute teacher expenses, a loss of school building rent revenue, and COVID-19-related expenditures, according to Assistant Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer Liam Hurley.

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In recent years, the school system relied on as much as $3.5 million in surplus cash to cover gaps. But the forthcoming budget “was really developed with very little cushion in it,” as officials do not anticipate any surplus this year, Hurley said.

During tight financial times in years past, the district worked to reduce non-personnel expenses, Fleishman said.

Personnel costs make up a significant chunk of the district’s budget, or about 88%.

“It’s really hard to go much lower than 12%,” Fleishman said. “So our reductions, in order to submit a balanced budget, will be primarily personnel.”

Officials have not finalized the number of positions proposed to be cut. Administrators provided approximate ranges of the total numbers because the amount of positions cut will depend on what kind of positions they are, Fleishman said.

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Teachers, however, are questioning whether personnel cuts need to be an option for the district in making ends meet.

Mike Zilles, president of the Newton Teachers Association, told NBC 10 Boston he understands the district must find money from somewhere.

But, he asked, why not use some of the funding the city received under the American Rescue Plan Act?

“When they come to us and said they don’t have the money, it’s really hard to believe that when they have $38 million remaining in unallocated ARPA funds,” Zilles told the new station.

Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, in a statement, said the city has given millions of dollars from pandemic relief funding to schools, and noted the school budget is increasing by 3.5 percent over the previous year, even as other city departments are only receiving a 3 percent increase, according to NBC 10 Boston.

“We continue to work closely with NPS leadership and the School Committee to find additional ways that ARPA or other funding may be appropriate,” Fuller wrote.

Alison Lobron, a mother of two students and a member of the Newton Teachers Association Parent Educator Collaborative, told the news outlet the proposed cuts are “in nobody’s best interest.”

“This is not in the best interest of the educations,” Lobron said. “This is not in the best interest of the students and it is not in the best interest of the city.”

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The collaborative will be hosting a community meeting on the proposed reductions next week.

According to Fleishman, administrators will present their budget proposal to the School Committee on March 23.

“We’re going to do everything we can to retain as many people as we can and be creative and think outside the box,” Fleishman said. “But certainly we’re facing a significant task.”

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