School Committee tables FY27 budget vote

School Committee · Meeting of January 22, 2026

SAUGUS — The Saugus School Committee voted unanimously to table its fiscal 2027 budget vote after a packed public hearing over teacher cuts. Elementary teacher Jamie Goldfarb warned the budget funds only three English learner teachers at Belmonte instead of four despite roughly 150 English learners enrolled. Saugus Educators Association President Kevin Fontanella said district staffing fell from 202.8 to 175.8 full-time positions between 2019 and 2025 even as enrollment grew to 2,675 students, calling it "math." Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian pressed the board on an undisclosed arbitration settlement and urged use of roughly $4 million in reserve funds for English learner tutoring.

Member Dennis Gould said, "I can't tell you how frustrating it is to me," describing a budget process that repeatedly produces numbers the town manager rejects. The committee approved $2,448,938.16 in bills and scheduled a continuation meeting for January 28.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of January 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.