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.