Chelsea Schools Unveil $8.6M Cut Plan
Chelsea school officials outlined an $8.6 million budget gap and proposed cutting nearly 80 staff positions during an hours-long public hearing.
School Committee · Meeting of March 17, 2026
Chelsea school officials outlined an $8.6 million budget gap and proposed cutting nearly 80 staff positions during an hours-long public hearing. Chief Financial Officer Billy Jo Turner said enrollment fell by 350 students this year to 5,749, after $2 million in added city funding trimmed an original $11.6 million shortfall. The plan would cut $6.8 million from school-based staff, including two English, two math and two science teachers and eight multilingual-learner teachers at Chelsea High School, plus $1.7 million at the district level.
Chelsea Teachers Union President Katherine Anderson said the administrator-to-student ratio would shrink from "1 to 521" in 2020 to "1 to 250" next year even as nearly 80 positions are eliminated. The committee took no vote and scheduled the budget vote for March 26.
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Source: the School Committee meeting of March 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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