Key issues included confusion over Stabilization Fund Cash and support for restoring Kindergarten aides.
Following a non-recorded budget workshop on February 26, during which the School Committee heard publicly for the first time about a large NPS budget deficit forecast for next year, the agenda for the March 10 School Committee meeting was almost entirely devoted to budget discussion. Fig City News‘ previous article covering the February 26 workshop describes the overall budgeting philosophy, as well as changes in forecast revenues and expenses driving the deficit.
On March 10th, Superintendent Anna Nolin, who had recently received a 3-year extension to her existing employment agreement through June 2029, presented a “first draft” of the proposed NPS budget for Fiscal Year 2026 (academic year Fall 2025 – Spring 2026). Dr. Nolin used a 50-page slide presentation to summarize the full $297 million draft budget, and she was joined by Assistant Superintendents Ayesha Farag and Dr. Gina Flanagan in reviewing the presentation. Pages 23 and 24 of the presentation contain the overall forecast of a $3.7-$4.5 million gap between the March 10 draft budgeted expenses and the current forecast sources of revenue.
The draft budget assumes that existing federal funding , largely for special education reimbursement, will remain in place with the exception of $350,000 from grant programs that are already known to be cancelled. Notably, the Educational Stabilization Fund, and restoration of Kindergarten aides, were two areas of considerable debate during the meeting.
Educational Stabilization Fund
In late February 2024, almost one month after the conclusion of the Newton Teachers Strike, the City created the Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) from large excess cash balances held by the City at that time. The expectation of this fund being created was a key factor in the final negotiated NTA agreement to end the strike. Shortly after the strike ended, NPS created a summary presentation of the new NTA agreement and forecast sources of funding. Page 8 of this presentation shows an assumed $4.0 million contributed from the ESF to NPS for FY 2026.
In October 2024, Mayor Fuller presented the annual City’s 5-year Long-Range Financial Plan. Pages 53 and 54 of the Plan, as well as pages 6 and 7 of the October 7 weekly Mayoral e-newsletter, show $5.1 million in budget tables denoting the planned FY 2026 ESF contributions to NPS. However, the accompanying text describing how the City will manage the ESF is not clear regarding whether the $5.1 million ESF FY 2026 contribution in the budget tables was a placeholder figure subject to change, or a decided-upon amount the City was managing towards.
The March 10th FY 2026 draft NPS budget assumes $4.2 million of ESF funding. During the meeting, following Dr. Nolin’s review of the first portion of the budget presentation, Paul Levy (Ward 6) began the Committee members’ discussion by asking Dr. Nolin if she had been advised by City Hall that the expected ESF funding was reduced by approximately $1 million versus NPS expectations. Dr. Nolin answered briefly that she shared Mr. Levy’s understanding that the ESF allocation would be larger. Mayor Fuller then gave a long reply stating that $4.2 million was always the City’s intent for FY 2026 ESF funding, and that the $5.1 million number in the long-range forecast was a “surprise” to her. (Mayor Fuller did not specifically state she was referring to the October 2024 long-range forecast cited in the previous paragraph, however this was implied from the context.)
This led to broader discussion over whether or not the School Committee and the Mayor had a verbal understanding from “conference room” meetings, implied to have occurred over the past year, that the ESF contribution would increase to $5.1 million. Rajeev Parlikar (Ward 1) and Tamika Olszewski (Ward 4) conveyed they were more focused on the present gap, and that each of NPS and City would have to move closer together in the coming weeks. Chris Brezski (Chair, Ward 2) stated he viewed the City’s proposed total allocation as having the ability to increase, citing the City’s lower expectations for interest income on cash than present market rates indicate. He also stated, “In my opinion, it’s just not correct” that an operating override is “the only path forward” in response to what he perceived as discussion of future deficits moving toward that conclusion.
The ESF discussion ended without an agreed-upon conclusion.
Kindergarten aides
The School Committee and the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) are presently in a legal dispute over whether the district is contractually required to place an aide, in addition to the classroom teacher and any dedicated special education aides, in every Kindergarten classroom. In April 2024, an arbitrator ruled in the NTA’s favor that aides are required, however the School Committee has an appeal pending on that ruling. Approximately $800,000 of incremental cost for FY 2026 would be incurred if aides were restored, and uncertainty regarding that cost causes the forecast NPS deficit to range from $3.7 – $4.5 million.
The draft NPS budget includes the restoration of aides. Following the presentation by Dr. Nolin and Ms. Farag of the elementary school portion of the budget, Mr. Levy asked Ms. Farag to evaluate how large a priority Kindergarten aides were alongside district’s other needs. Ms. Farag, supported by Dr. Nolin, did not respond by ranking the aides above or below other needs, but emphasized the relevance of aides to other initiatives such as Multi-Tiered Support Systems (MTSS), as well as “restoring trust” with educators. Following Dr. Nolin’s reply, Ms. Olszewski interjected to state that she viewed the administrators’ advocacy for Kindergarten aides as distinct from the School Committee’s present legal position that the existence of aide positions could not be collectively bargained, and therefore not contractually required.
Other School Committee members reiterated Ms. Olszewski’s views, however Emily Prenner stated agreement with the administrators’ support of Kindergarten aides, without regard to the legal question. Ms. Prenner later clarified to Fig City News that the intent of her statement was that the FY 2026 budget should include funding for aides in order to be prepared for any legal outcome.
The meeting replay is available on NewTV. The next special budget meeting is 6:30PM on March 12 and will focus on the district’s middle schools and high schools. The first vote on the budget is tentatively scheduled for March 24.
