SAUGUS Vol. 27, No.3 Your Local News & Sports Online! Scan & Subscribe Here! C TE D O AT CAT -FREE- www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday 781-233-4446 Friday, January 17, 2025 CELEBRATING A RECORD BREAKER Funding Saugus Public Schools Superintendent’s proposed Fy 2026 spending plan is $2.5 million more than the current budget By Mark E. Vogler T he 2026 fiscal year spending plan proposed by Schools Superintendent Michael C. Hashem is nearly $2.5 million more than the $33.8 million operating budget approved at last May’s Annual Town Meeting. “This budget reflects the needs of the district to move forward, as well as addressing a transition from using ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funding to supplement the working budget,” Hashem noted in his budget message presented to the School Committee last week (Jan. 9). “With the increase in the diLADY SACHEM HOOP HISTORY: Norma Waggett, assistant coach for the Saugus High School Girls Varsity Basketball Team, with junior Peyton DiBiasio last week after DiBiasio scored 27 points to break her coach’s Saugus High School all-time scoring record of 1,110 points. Please see inside for more photos and the story. (Courtesy Photo of Joseph Dennis Gould) verse needs of our students there are resources and supports that are necessary to make education accessible to all students. These services add to the cost of the baseline budget that is required of students learning in the year 2025 and beyond,” the superintendent said. ESSER funds provide emergency relief to state and local educational agencies to address the impact of COVID-19 on elementary and secondary schools. Town residents had an opportunity to comment on the superintendent’s proposed $36.2 million budget for the fi scal year that begins July 1 during a public hearing that was held last night. The Advocate will report on the proceedings in next week’s edition, as the meeting took place after the newspaper’s deadline. During his budget briefi ng of the School Committee, the superintendent used a PowerPoint presentation to explain the four major components of the requested budget increase: • Fixed cost increases, contractual obligations and potential out-of-district placements accounted for $1,4532,889 – or 59 percent of the total requested increase. These socalled Tier One details and costs included collective bargaining agreements, Special Education Out of District Tuition and SPED transportation in addition to regular day transportation. • Tier 2-related expenses accounted for $219,581 of the PUBLIC SCHOOLS | SEE PAGE 2 MARCHETTI CORP. 46 Years of Excellence!! 1978-2024 aded $3.879 Reg $3 3 879 MidUnleaded $3.379 Super $3.479 Diesel Fuel $3.499 Hours: Monday thru Friday 6 AM to 7 PM / Saturdays 7 AM to 5 PM / Sundays 9 AM to 5 PM Kerosene Available! HEATING O L IL ULS $4.759 $3.47 9 DEF Call for Current Price! (125—gallon minimum) DEF Available by Pump! 24-Hour Burner Service Open an account and order online at: FLEET Prices subject to change
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