Swampscott Select Board Backs 'Fully-Funded' Schools, Eyes Other Cuts

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — The Swampscott Select Board signaled support for a budget designed to "fully fund" public schools — backing what had been a School Committee request for $661,000 higher in Fiscal Year 2026 than the town target amount — presumably necessitating cuts in other municipal staffing or services, and/or additional fees, to make up the difference.

Town official said last month the budget proposal would tap into $1.5 million in excess tax levy — the amount of property tax the town can charge homeowners without seeking a Proposition 2 1/2 override — that Treasurer Amy Sarro said would translate into a $643 annual increase for the median single-family homeowner with a home assessed at $769,000 based on 2025 values. She said adding the $661,000 to meet the School Committee's request would increase the average tax bill another $99.94 to $743.

• 'This Is Dire': Swampscott Eyes $1.5M Tax Levy Increase, $661K School Gap Remains

The original town proposal increase did not include the 4.79 percent budget increase the School Committee approved on Feb. 7 — but instead the 3.25 percent increase the town proposed — a difference of about $661,000 that School Committee members previously said would result in the cutting of staff members currently employed.

"I don't take it lightly, in terms of doing this," Select Board member Doug Thompson said. "But it does feel like there is a possibility of really doing this (finding other cuts/revenue sources to offset the school increase) in a really responsible way. But to not sugarcoat it — we don't really talk about that $1.5 million.

"We are talking about people's taxes going up to make this happen. Just so that's not lost on anybody."

The Select Board vote was 4-0-1, with Chair MaryEllen Fletcher saying she would abstain because "I have not seen what I (feel is) a full, line-item budget from the schools to see exactly what can possibly, if anything, come out."

"I do think there is a process," Fletcher said. "I am in full agreement that the schools need additional support. But until I see everything, knowing that I am very serious about what the tax implications are for this entire community, I would just like to see everything wrung out."

• 'Enough Is Enough': Swampscott School Budget Battle Brewing

Select Board member Danielle Leonard said she wants to continue working with town officials to find where more efficiencies and reductions can be found to offset the school increase.

"We do certainly need to make sure we are as lean as we can get," Leonard said. "Unfortunately, prior to me taking that step, I don't feel like we were doing much of anything on this side to figure out how we were going to bridge that divide.

"It is time that the rubber meets the road. And the Select Board ponies up and says we need to do this for the schools. And however we need to do it, we need to do it."

(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.)