Stoneham Schools Face $537,000 Budget Gap After Presenting 41.5-FTE Cut List

STONEHAM — April 10, 2025 — Stoneham School Committee reviewed $3.46 million in proposed staff and program cuts Thursday, still short of the $4 million to $4.5 million target needed to balance the fiscal year 2026 budget after voters rejected a $14.6 million override on April 1. Superintendent Joanne Youngberg presented a list of 41.5 full-time-equivalent positions targeted for elimination — representing 30 layoffs — spanning English learner teachers, school nurses, assistant principals, special education staff, guidance counselors, custodians, and others across every building in the district. The district faces an additional gap of at least $537,000, with options still on the table including converting kindergarten to half-day and raising class sizes to as many as 30 students in grades four and five. Colonial Park Assistant Principal Rosa Flynn told the committee that cutting the elementary assistant principal position "will absolutely result in an actual increase in cost down the line," citing data showing chronic absenteeism at Colonial Park fell from 20.4 percent to 6.8 percent since the position was created. The committee voted unanimously to approve a new tiered athletic fee structure — ranging from $350 for cross country to $600 for hockey — and to appoint Sarah O'Leary as the district's special education director after a three-year vacancy, pending contract negotiations. On a positive note, Youngberg announced that state Representative Day secured a $150,000 transportation earmark for Stoneham and a circuit breaker reimbursement increase from 44 percent to 75 percent in a supplemental budget that passed the state House. The committee must vote on a final line-item budget by May 1.