Town Meeting 2026 – The town manager increased his budget recommendation for the School Department by $1.8 million – nearly $3 million more than the current appropriation

By Mark E. Vogler

Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree has increased his initial budget recommendation for Saugus Public Saugus Public Schools by $1.8 million for the 2027 Fiscal Year beginning July 1 – supporting the request of Schools Superintendent Michael Hashem to increase current school spending by $2.8 million. “As we work through the budget process, I’m updating my recommendation to reflect the School Department’s request while also making sure Town Meeting has clear information about the long-term impact of recurring costs,” Crabtree said in a press release this week posted on the Town of Saugus website.

Earlier this year, Crabtree had recommended a million-dollar increase in the appropriation approved by Town Meeting last year, about a third of what Hashem was seeking. But just a week before the opening session of this year’s Annual Town Meeting (7:30 p.m. in the second floor auditorium at Saugus Town Hall), Crabtree announced his “recommended budget is changing to reflect the School Department’s full operating request – an additional $1,837,839 beyond the initial estimate, for a total recommended increase of $2,837,839 over the current year.”

With 15 new members taking office in the 50-member chamber – many of them strong advocates for public education – the School Department budget is expected to draw considerable discussion this year when Town Meeting considers the full town budget. The Finance Committee was expected to review the School Department budget for 2027 Fiscal Year during a hearing scheduled in the second floor auditorium on Wednesday night and make a recommendation to Town Meeting members.

Over the past decade, the School Committee and supporters of Saugus Public Schools have sparred at Town Meeting over the issue of whether the town was spending enough on public education. The town manager has usually recommended hundreds of thousands of dollars less than what the superintendent requested. The School Committee last year gave unanimous approval of Hashem’s proposed $36.2 million FY 25 budget – which was nearly $2.5 million more than the previous year’s operating budget. The Annual Town Meeting later approved a budget that was reduced to $34,768,535, about a $1.5 million reduction in what the superintendent had requested.

This year, Crabtree and other town officials took a different approach. Crabtree has been meeting regularly in recent months with Schools Superintendent Hashem, School Committee Chair Thomas Whittredge, Finance Committee Chair Kenneth DePatto and School Finance Subcommittee Chair Brian Doherty along with town finance staff in an effort “to understand the School Department’s budget request and key drivers – including contractual obligations, program needs, and other funding considerations,” according to Crabtree’s press release.

“As part of these ongoing discussions, the superintendent and school district have agreed to meet regularly and to provide information on a recurring basis, including one-year, three-year, and five-year financial projections and periodic updates on how resources are being aligned with school and district improvement planning, strategic initiatives, and measurable steps intended to strengthen student achievement,” the press release noted. “As part of these discussions, the superintendent has agreed to bring in a consultant to help with the district’s strategic improvement plan and the implementation of actionable measures to improve the school system.”

The superintendent expressed support for the new approach. “I appreciate the collaborative approach of the group and the additional allocations to the School Department,” Hashem said in a statement. “I’m committed to improving the financial transparency of the school budget and improving student learning and achievement.”

In his press release, Crabtree stressed that school budgets include significant costs that must be evaluated with a multiyear lens. “Recurring expenses don’t just affect one year, they carry forward and compound,” Crabtree said.

“Town Meeting should have a clear understanding of the long-term impacts, and the Town should continue planning for how these costs will be supported and sustained in future years in a responsible way. Communities across Massachusetts are facing difficult decisions as rising costs put pressure on local budgets, and it is important that Saugus continues to approach these decisions thoughtfully and with a long-term view,” he said.

Crabtree emphasized the importance of connecting resources to outcomes and long-term improvement. He said the entire community should want to see continued progress for Saugus students as the School Department aligns resources with a clear plan and measurable steps that strengthen educational outcomes.

Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian, a former School Committee member, said he was surprised by Crabtree’s press release. But he added that he understands why the town manager had decided to recommend the full budget request of the School Department. “He’s issuing a challenge. He’s challenging not only the School Committee, but he’s also challenging Town Meeting,” Manoogian said in an interview this week.

“The town manager is saying ‘Show us what you’re going to do with the money. Prove that you can raise student achievement.’ The School Committee needs to focus on student achievement. We’re in the bottom third of the state,” Manoogian said.

“We’re talking $2 million more and that’s huge,” Manoogian said of Crabtree’s recommendation for additional school funding.

“This is also a challenge to the parents. I hope the parents demand better of our schools,” he said.

Precinct 8 Town Meeting Member Arthur Grabowski, another former School Committee Member, said he was preparing for “a huge fight at Town Meeting” over the school budget before Crabtree’s press release. “You got some Town Meeting members who are schoolteachers, and some of the discussion has turned vicious.”

Grabowski characterized Crabtree’s press release as a strategic move. “Reading his press release, it seems to me that he got the School Department to admit that they need to be more careful about how they’re spending their money. And I think that’s a step in the right direction that we didn’t have before,” Grabowski said.

“By Scott [Crabtree] doing it this way, he got some concessions from the School Department. And he gets to have input on how they spend their money,” he said.

Grabowski and Manoogian each expressed concerns about how the big increase in this year’s school budget could affect the town’s fiscal situation in future years. “I don’t think we will have a problem this year. But, I don’t think it bodes well for the future,” Grabowski said.

“The teachers are getting a 5 percent pay raise this year and 5 percent next year. The School Committee has got to realize they can’t give away pay raises without knowing where the money is coming from,” he said.

Manoogian noted that taxpayers will have to pay the price for spending more money on public education. “This issue has sucked all the oxygen and the dollars out of the room,” Manoogian said.

“How we sustain this is not conceivable. I don’t want to see Saugus go through what we went through 25 years ago,” he said, referring to fiscal problems that led to a reduction in municipal services. Manoogian said Saugus could easily wind up like several neighboring communities that have endured fiscal problems.