North Andover School Committee Unanimously Adopts 3.64 Percent FY27 Budget Increase

NORTH ANDOVER -- April 9, 2026, North Andover School Committee unanimously adopts a 3.64 percent FY27 budget increase tied to a May 4 override vote. The five-member committee, meeting for the first time with newly elected members Michael McCabe and Rosalie Weiss, voted 5-0 Thursday to endorse Superintendent Jeffrey Marston's revised budget reflecting roughly $609,000 in cuts, including elimination of Mandarin instruction at Dale Street and Wheelock elementary schools and the reallocation of a fourth-grade teacher to second grade. Marston warned that a failed override would require an additional $693,000 in reductions and the elimination of nine more positions through a seniority bumping process he described as "really difficult." Warrant Committee member Ed Vizala praised the administration from the public podium, saying, "We cannot afford to let this slip away, it's about a million four thirty," referencing the total override gap. The committee also voted unanimously to sponsor three Town Meeting warrant articles totaling $1.125 million in capital requests and the Elementary School Tax Mitigation Stabilization Fund appropriation, and elected Bram as Vice Chair and Viglas as Recording Secretary.