'Significant Budget Deficit': Salem Schools Could Face $4M+ Shortfall

SALEM, MA — Salem Public Schools may have to trim more than $4 million from next year's spending as Superintendent Steve Zrike said the district faces a "significant budget deficit" because of rising costs, including pay increases in the new teachers' contract signed this past September.

The district has hosted a series of budget forums in recent weeks as officials seek input on what important programs must be maintained and what may be cut in next year's budget. A final virtual community forum is set for Monday at 6 p.m. with a link to it here and an additional staff forum to follow.

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"It will give you a sense of the (budget) context — which is a challenging one this year," Zrike said during his Facebook Live session with families on Wednesday. "We have a significant budget deficit that's being caused by rising costs, the (pay) increases that we needed to provide to our staff to be more competitive, which were part of our negotiated contract. There's been the end of COVID relief (ESSER) funding. And, as everybody knows, the cost of doing business everywhere has gone up — the cost of services, the cost of materials, the cost of energy ... all of that has increased and that has an impact on our budget."

Zrike said the estimated budget shortfall for next year is between $4 million and $4.5 million.

One of the ways the district is considering offsetting that deficit is introducing the types of student activity fees that many districts use where students pay to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities so they become more self-sufficient.

Zrike said Monday's forum will be used to help "gauge the appetite for that."

"Based on the prognosis that we've done we definitely have some work to do to balance our budget this year," Zrike said.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)