North Andover School Committee Opens $72.2 Million FY27 Budget Public Hearing

School Committee · Meeting of January 15, 2026

North Andover School Committee opens public hearing on $72.2 million FY27 school budget. Superintendent Lathrop presented the recommended budget at the January 15 meeting, a 4.05 percent increase over the FY26 level of $69.2 million, with $1.5 million in anticipated circuit breaker reimbursement proposed to close a gap between the full recommended spending of $73.7 million and the town-allotted target. The budget adds nine positions including special education staff, a middle school teacher, and an assistant principal at ABECC.

Three residents pushed back during the public hearing, with Kathleen Poore, a 34-year district teacher, saying "we need more than one teacher" at the middle school, and Nadia Chinchilla urging the committee to publicly commit to a multi-year plan to restore cut programs. The committee also accepted a $32,000 Deeper Learning grant and a $30,000 state earmark for vape detectors, and heard that a 30-year, $3 million-per-year Kittredge School debt authorization will require a two-thirds vote at the May 12 town meeting, without a debt exclusion, because Amazon's expanded taxable inventory increases the available tax levy.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of January 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.