Andover Public Schools could eliminate as many as 24 full-time positions for the 2025-26 academic year to close a $1.8 million budget deficit.
“I just want to acknowledge the gravity of this because…it was a challenging cycle last year,” school committee Chair Lauren M. Conoscenti said at Tuesday’s budget workshop. “This is shaping up to be challenging as well.”
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Administrators told the committee the deficit in the $107.5 million budget is primarily the result of contractual salary increases, increased special education transportation costs, and utilities at the new West Elementary School. The school committee is in the process of reviewing the budget for final presentation to annual town meeting next month.
The school committee reviewed several options for closing the deficit on Tuesday, including:
- Eliminating 24 positions. The exact positions would be determined later in the budget process after taking into account resignations and retirements.
- Increasing student user fees and eliminating 22 full-time positions. The fee increases include a 2.5 percent for athletics and 10 percent for fine arts. The second option would also include a 2.5 percent tuition increase for preschoolers.
- Level-funded non-salary expenses. Under this option, non-salary expenses would be reduced and 18.9 full-time positions would be cut.
- Increased fees. By increasing transportation, athletic, and fine arts fees by 10 percent and restoring fees the school committee has eliminated in recent years, the number of positions eliminated would drop to 18.5.
While no decisions were made at Tuesday’s meeting, the school committee signaled a preference for the third option with modifications, including:
- Level-funding non-salary expenses.
- Increasing athletic fees by 2.5%.
- Increasing fine arts fees by 2.5%.
- Increasing preschool tuition by 2.5%