City Council Ad Hoc Budget Committee of the Whole Meeting
Public hearing on the Amesbury Public Schools proposed FY25 budget, including presentation of a School Committee-approved budget representing a 4.98% increase over the original FY24 budget (4.10% over the adjusted FY24 budget).
The Ad Hoc Budget Committee of the Whole convened for Budget Hearing #1 on May 16, 2024. Councilors conducted a short organizational action to nominate and elect Councilor Stanganelli as Chair of the Ad Hoc Budget Committee of the Whole. The substantive item for the evening was a presentation of the Amesbury Public Schools (APS) proposed FY25 budget by Superintendent Elizabeth McAndrews and Director of Business and Operations Joan Liporto.
The APS presentation reviewed the district’s vision and equity priorities, explained a zero‑based/level‑services budgeting approach, and laid out known contractual and non‑contractual cost drivers (including teacher and paraprofessional contract increases, step and longevity increases, out‑of‑district tuition increases, utility and transportation costs, and ESSER‑funded positions). The presentation traced budget progression from an initial 9% level‑services increase down through rightsizing at AMS and a package of reductions totaling about $2,031,951 (including $360,000 from rightsizing). The School Committee-approved budget restores selected positions and items valued at approximately $670,581 and represents a 4.98% increase over the original FY24 budget (4.10% over the adjusted FY24 budget after a prior $310,396 appropriation). Councilors asked questions and engaged with APS leadership on staffing, programmatic impacts, and fiscal assumptions; no final Council vote on the FY25 school budget was recorded at this meeting.