Petition to North Andover Town Leaders: 

Support our students and our property investment by Voting for the Level Services Budget 

We, the undersigned residents and voters of North Andover, call upon our town leaders to maintain current funding levels for all eight of our public schools by approving the proposed Level Services Budget as presented by School Superintendent Pamela Lathrop at the School Committee Meeting February 6, 2025.

Public schools play an essential role in shaping the future of our youth and our community at large. We urge the School Committee to support the Level Services Budget option for Fiscal Year 2026 and that the Finance Committee follows with its support by recommending it on the floor of the May Town Meeting.

We believe anything less than a Level Services Budget will short-change our children and do irreparable harm to property values throughout the community.

The across-the-board funding cuts incorporated in the Guidance Budget as advanced by the Select Board and the slightly better Alternative Budget offered by the School Committee have serious consequences including:

      ● An increase of the average number of students in a classroom to 27 leading to decreased academic performance, increased anxiety in students, and an overburdened staff at every grade level.

      ● Inadequate access to instruction that requires the use of technology.

      ● Closure of the Kittredge Elementary School BEFORE funding is secured. A positive debt exclusion vote to fund new construction is not guaranteed, nor is state grant support.

      ● Assignment of Kittredge students to three other elementary schools causing the separation of students and maximizing transition impact.

       ● Layoffs of teachers and staff as well as the displacement of teachers and staff districtwide.

       ● Decreased academic, athletic, arts, and other extracurricular opportunities so important to student well-being as well as college acceptance rates during the competitive college application process.

     Every student in North Andover deserves access to a quality education.  We believe that it is our job as parents, teachers, and concerned citizens to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves– our youth. 

     In order to ensure that all students can thrive, we urge our policymakers to prioritize funding for public schools by supporting the Level Services Budget. This funding will be used to:

1. Keep Kittredge Elementary School open until funding to replace the aging building is secured and construction is ready to begin.
2. Maintain teacher and staffing levels districtwide. Cuts in personnel should not be tolerated.
3. Establish the allowable maximum number of students per classroom at the elementary level districtwide at 25. 
4. Preserve all existing extracurricular and after-school enrichment activities.
5. Make sure that Individualized Education Plans are supported rather than adapted to fit inadequate funding.

     We believe the Level Service Budget can be funded by choosing to use FY25 and FY 24 Levy Gap taxing authority in accordance with state laws. There is no need to resort to extraordinary measures such as an override. The state certified Levy Gap indicates North Andover FY25 budget is currently taxing below its Prop 2 1/2 limits by $5.1 million. Additionally, the FY24 Levy Gap can be accessed. The town, as calculated by the state, has a robust Free Cash Account as well as two robust Stabilization Funds, otherwise known as “rainy day funds, to maintain its current high bond rating.

     We believe keeping Kittredge open until a replacement building is funded and groundbreaking is scheduled will benefit all elementary school students by keeping class sizes at existing levels.

     We believe that laying off dedicated, loyal, and seasoned teachers not only hurts their careers but will do irreparable harm to our children and the school system by putting additional stress on those remaining. Moreover, good teachers are not easily replaced when enrollments change and grow.

     We believe a variety of extracurricular and athletic activities enrich our students and provide a pathway for their success in future endeavors.

     We believe that strong schools equate to a strong town.  By working together, we can ensure that every child in our community has the opportunity to access a fair and equitable education that will cultivate educated and well-informed citizens of our town.

Without proper funding, our students, teachers, and entire North Andover community will suffer devastating consequences. Our students cannot afford to lose resources, our teachers cannot afford to work in an underfunded system, and our town officials have the capability and responsibility to act in the best interest of the schools and residents of North Andover.

The future of education in North Andover depends on the approval of the Level Services budget.

To recapitulate, we are requesting that the Level Services budget is recommended to the floor of the Town Meeting this May without proposing an override.  Support for our schools using funding from the levy gap, free cash, and/or stabilization funds is possible, and we request that it be recommended to cultivate a strong school district and preserve the economic vitality of the Town of North Andover.