North Andover Finance Committee Seeks Five Years of School Spending Data

Finance Committee · Meeting of January 5, 2026

North Andover Finance Committee warns of a school-budget squeeze and a potential tax hit from the Royal Crest sale. At a brief January 5 organizational meeting, Chair Regina Kean said she has been unable to find reliable figures on actual school spending in recent years and called on the committee to formally request five years of historical school spending data along with projections through at least fiscal year 2028. Members expressed concern that annual school budget allocations in the town's financial forecast, showing 4 percent growth this year dropping to 2 percent the following year, do not reflect real cost pressures from existing salary contracts.

"This is more than we can afford," one member quoted the town manager as having said when a prior contract was negotiated. The committee also flagged that Merrimack College's reported acquisition of the Royal Crest apartment complex could remove an estimated $800,000 or more in annual property tax revenue from the town's rolls, though the finance director told Kean it is too early for firm numbers. The committee approved its December 8 and December 15 minutes unanimously and left its next meeting date, tentatively February 2, under review pending the School Committee's own budget vote expected January 29.

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Source: the Finance Committee meeting of January 5, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.