The School Committee has statutory authority for determining the allocation of funds provided to it. Given the recent public consternation about the FY26 Newton Public Schools (“NPS“) budget (for year ended June 30, 2026), with a $3.4 million unfunded balance, you might have sighed relief at Mayor Ruthanne Fuller’s announcement during the April 2 School Committee meeting that she would appropriate $4.97 million of the City’s current $13 million “free cash” balance to NPS for the upcoming fiscal year. If you were one of those sighing relief, you should hold your breath a bit longer.
When Mayor Fuller tells you she has allocated this $4.97 million to NPS, she is leaving out one very important detail: She is the sole determinant of where that money goes, not the School Committee – the officials you have elected and charged with the authority to allocate funding within NPS. Even with this proposed appropriation of free cash, NPS still faces a $2.2 million deficit between the budget approved by the School Committee and the proposed appropriation of funds from the City.
The NPS FY26 budget
The NPS budget, crafted by Superintendent Dr. Anna Nolin and her team, and approved by the School Committee on April 2 by a 6-3 vote, provides greater transparency than previous budgets and contains meaningful efficiencies that reflect economic reality and declining elementary and middle school enrollment. It provides the same level of services to our students that we provide in this current school year without any major new initiatives or meaningful expansions of existing programs beyond enrollment-driven needs. Several increased line items, such as building maintenance and substitute teacher costs, have historically been under-budgeted to feign a balanced budget. This approved budget provides a more realistic picture of these costs. The FY26 NPS budget approved by the School Committee is $296.4 million, excluding a recognized contingency of $830,000 in case the district were to be required to have full-time Kindergarten aides in every classroom with 14 or more students.
The City’s proposed appropriation
Mayor Fuller announced in January that the City would increase its appropriation for NPS by 3.65% in FY26, plus an additional $4.1 million to be distributed from the City’s $21 million Education Stabilization Fund (“ESF”) created with City free cash balances in December 2023. The total appropriation from the City, including this contribution from the ESF, is $293.0 million.
In the April 2nd School Committee meeting, the Mayor then announced she would appropriate an additional $4.97 million to NPS. This amount is funded from “free cash” – effectively the cumulative amount of City revenue in excess of City expenses in the prior year – and is distinct from her $293 million appropriation. However, only $1.17 million of this $4.97 million would reduce the NPS budget deficit, and that $1.17 million is funding Newton Public School budget line items of the Mayor’s choosing; $2.5 million will go to facility improvements and $1.3 million will fund a very suddenly announced increase in the City’s healthcare insurance premiums.
The problem is that the School Committee has statutory authority for determining the allocation of funds provided to it. If Mayor Fuller had simply appropriated that money to NPS, the School Committee would then be tasked to determine its best use – serving the most acute needs of the system – as is required by law, and as we are elected to do.
Don’t get me wrong – we need facilities improvements. A lot more than $2.5 million. But right now, my priority is providing the support our students require. That $2.5 million of facility improvements, if applied to our operating budget, would solve our FY26 budget deficit. I am asking the Mayor to appropriate it to NPS and let the School Committee determine its best use consistent with the School Committee’s statutory authority.
Beyond FY26
Beyond the next year, NPS still has a structural fiscal problem. There are two ways to fix this: cut costs, or find more money. Cutting costs, which at this point just means cutting staff, will only create another structural deficit – an educational one. NPS would not be able to provide the services our students require and our families expect. The only true structural solution is finding more funding for the system.
There are solutions available to the City – specifically, revisiting arbitrary timelines to resolve underfunded but future retiree obligations (pension and OPEB). The City’s funding to its pension trust will see a peak contribution in August 2030 of $68.1 million ($49.5 million FY25) with full funding in August 2031 – almost a full decade before the Commonwealth’s 2040 statutory deadline. The City is currently funding an OPEB trust along with pensions, despite no statutory obligation at all to do so. Funding these liabilities is necessary, but when doing so at the current pace crowds out the services citizens require, perhaps it has gone too far. This is like maxing out your 401(k) contributions but not having food on the table for the kids. Note: These funds are not paying out current retirees, and no retiree is impacted. These funds are invested to ensure that future taxpayers of Newton do not carry any of this burden, just as current taxpayers are carrying the burden of the Newton citizens who lived here in the decades before. Perhaps we have too much on our shoulders.
This is a solvable problem. It just takes the will of people who want to solve it. In the meantime, to make sure our students get what they need right now, Newton’s citizens should insist that the School Committee is provided with the statutory decision-making power it requires.
Chris Brezski is the Chair of the Newton School Committee. This commentary reflects his personal views and does not necessarily represent the views of the Newton School Committee.
