A June 18 special town meeting will consider using free cash to balance the town and Andover Public Schools’s budgets, but doing so is unlikely to save 36 positions slated for elimination in the 2024-25 school year.
A joint meeting of the select board and school and finance committees Tuesday placed two articles on the warrant: one to use free cash to close a $1.9 million deficit stemming from last month’s Annual Town meeting and a second to prevent free cash for being used for non-reoccurring expenses like salaries. All three boards recommended special town meeting disapprove the free cash article and approve the article with an APS budget that does not use free cash for non-reoccurring expenses.
Last month annual town meeting approved raising the district’s budget by $1.9 million in an effort to save more than 35 positions that were slated for elimination.
Superintendent Magda Parvey said an expected increase will allow the district to add four positions, which will be evaluated over the summer. Parvey said that among the 36 teachers being cut:
- 21 were retiring or had accepted positions outside the district.
- 14 were not renewed because they did not have tenure.
- One will not return because no open positions matched their qualification.
“While there are dissenting opinions about the budget, I am confident that the budget approved by the school committee, the select board and the fin com is sound and responsible and allocates the resources needed to provide outstanding teaching and learning throughout Andover Public Schools,” Parvey said. “Declining enrollment enables the district to reduce the number of sections in some grade levels and subject areas while maintaining reasonable class sizes. Parents will not see a reduction in key services to our students.”