Newburyport School Committee Appoints Whittier Reps, Debates $47.8 Million FY27 Budget

School Committee · Meeting of March 11, 2026

Newburyport School Committee advances a $47.8 million FY27 draft budget requiring a 5.2 percent city appropriation increase. Chief Financial Officer Ethan Manning told the committee Wednesday that the figure has already been trimmed by $1.1 million from the February level-service proposal, with further reductions expected before the preliminary budget is presented March 25. The dominant cost driver is out-of-district special education placements, projected at 34 students for FY27 at an average residential cost of roughly $390,000 each — accounting for a $2.3 million budget addition.

The committee also unanimously appointed Erin Fenn and Stephanie Kalina as the city's two representatives to the Whittier Regional School Committee, with Chair Sean Reardon noting 22 eighth graders applied for just seven available Whittier slots this year. A finance subcommittee proposal to raise high school athletic fees by $25 per tier and re-tier skiing and indoor track generated significant debate but no vote, with Member Breanna Higgins warning against "nickel and diming families" for a projected gain of only $26,000 on a million-dollar program.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of March 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.