By Adam Swift
The school committee approved a $156.2 million budget for the 2026-27 school year that will see about 50 positions cut from schools and the administration at its regular meeting last week. It was another long and emotional meeting for the committee, as declining enrollment and rising costs created a $6.6 million budget shortfall for the 26-27 school year. That budget shortfall was $2 million less than the school district faced at its March 17 public hearing on the budget. That meeting saw hundreds of students, teachers, and parents crowd Chelsea High, with dozens upon dozens of them speaking up against the proposed cuts. The following day, March 18, City Manager Fidel Maltez announced that the city would be contributing an additional $2 million to the school budget. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Almi Abeyta said that with those funds, the schools would be able to restore 18.5 teacher positions, five paraprofessionals, and the assistant principal at the Chelsea Opportunity Academy to the budget out of the more than 70 positions that were originally cut. While the public speaking at last week’s school committee meeting was not as extensive as at the March 17 public hearing, there were still many teachers, students, and parents who advocated for saving more classroom positions and having more transparency in the budget process. Several of the speakers also noted that there were not as many student speakers at the March 24 meeting because there were students who felt they were not properly heard by the school committee and administration members at the public hearing. One of the major issues that continued to be a point of discussion was the cuts to school-facing positions as opposed to more cuts to administrative and administrative cabinet-level positions. “I am here to urge the committee to vote no on the budget,” said Vanessa Mendoza-Mercado, a teacher at the Kelly School and the vice president of the Chelsea Teachers’ Union. “We heard from community members last week that they are looking to see changes in the budget. We know we received the additional $2 million from the city, we are appreciative of that additional money, but we know that we can do better for our students.” Mendoza-Mercado said cutting 57.5 positions is equivalent to eliminating almost a whole school’s worth of student-facing positions. “We know that our students are here, we know that our students are learning, we know that our students need our positions because we are here to help them,” she said. “In my 10 years of working in this district, we have never seen budget cuts this large. We know that the times are hard, we know that we have limited funds, but we can do a lot with the funds we have right now.” Mendoza-Mercado said that if the committee voted to pass the budget, she could not in good faith believe that the district was doing what was best for its students. “I know that we are going to see positions cut, but we need to make sure that they are fair and proportional, and that is all that we have been saying,” she said. “We’re not saying to cut all of your administrators, we are not saying to cut all central office staff; we are saying to look at our contracted services, to look at where we are using our monies right now.” During the school committee meeting, there was a presentation featuring many of the administrators highlighting the varied roles they take in the schools. Abeyta also noted that with the proposed cuts to central office staff, many of the administrators will be taking on additional duties in the 26-27 school year. “Over the course of this budget season, there have been many questions about the roles and contributions of my leadership team,” said Abeyta. “To provide clarity, we are sharing a presentation that we continually review every summer with our district leadership team. Its purpose is to clearly outline responsibilities and points of contact so that school leaders know exactly where to go for support and guidance.” Abeyta said she currently supervises 18 direct reports, including 11 principals. “The scope of this work has evolved significantly over the past eight years; it is different than when my predecessor was here,” said Abeyta. “Today, our focus includes building a more diverse workforce, strengthening communication with families, and expanding opportunities through extended learning; areas that did not exist in its current form before. As a result, the structure of the cabinet has grown by two direct reports, and another position beneath a direct report. “Equity, communication, and extended learning have been the focus of these three added positions,” she continued. “As superintendent, I am responsible for aligning the leadership structure to the needs and strategic direction of the district.” Several school committee members noted the difficult budget process during the current year and pledged to push for a more open and transparent process for the 2027-28 school year budget. Abeyta has noted that continuing enrollment trends show that the student population could decline by another 200-plus students next year, leading to more hard economic decisions. “To me, there is a clear and present enemy, and there are clear and present forces that are causing us to grapple with these hard decisions,” said School Committee member JAKE Small. “The federal agents and ICE officials who have pushed families out of the city, the dire constraints financially, socioeconomically that have pushed people out of the great city of Chelsea are the enemy and part of what is causing this year to be so incredibly challenging. Small said he would be voting present on the budget, stating that he did not believe the budget process has allowed the public to feel fully or authentically represented. “To vote present is to formally acknowledge this matter without casting a yes or no vote,” said Small. “It is a signal that while I am here, engaged, I cannot support a process that requires more transparency before a trusted vote can be made.” However, Small said he wanted to be clear that while he has struggled with the budget process, he believes that the Chelsea schools have a very strong leader in Abeyta. “I believe that we have one of the strongest education leaders in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Small. “She has committed to earlier and more transparent processes moving forward, and this school committee’s job is to hold her and her team accountable to the needs that we have heard over and over and over again.” The $156,248,491 school operating budget for FY27 passed with five yes votes, one no vote, and three school committee members voting present. Chair Ana Hernandez, Katherine Cabral, Lucia Henriquez, Claryangeliz Covas Caraball, and Mayra Balderas voted yes; Shawn O’Regan voted no; and Small, Dr. Sarah Neville, and Jonathan Gomez-Pereira voted