I had accepted the narrative that Newton Public Schools (NPS) would have been fully funded, had “unforeseen costs” not arisen. A closer look at Mayor Laredo’s FY27 budget reveals this is a fiction.
The numbers simply do not add up. While Mr. Laredo touted an increase for NPS of over 7% in his budget presentation, the actual year-over-year allocation increase is only 5.75%. This failed to even meet the 5.85% peak contractual salary increase. When factoring the $2.5M carry-forward mandate and the $5M in cumulative cuts required by FY30, the increase is even smaller. This was all before accounting for the skyrocketing costs of healthcare, transportation, and out-of-district tuition. Cuts were bound to happen again.
Furthermore, the exaggerated 7% figure — often cited to suggest the schools are a top priority — is misleading when placed in context. NPS’s growth is actually outpaced by other departments: Police (8%), Inspection Services (8%), IT (10%), and the Executive Office (a staggering 40%). At 7%, school funding growth would be merely on par with Veterans’ Services and Parks & Recreation.
By capping future increases below 5% in subsequent years, the Mayor won’t just fail the Superintendent’s long-term plans — he’ll fail our students and city. We need an additional ~$20M in “thrive investments” until FY30 plus a couple million to fix the carry-forward issue. We are told NPS will thrive but his roadmap ushers a new state of austerity.
It is time to stop the budgetary shell games and set higher expectations for elected officials and for how we fund education in Newton.
Enrique Rosero
Newton Centre
