Image courtesy Lowell TeleMedia

by Qinglong Diep

LOWELL – Students, teachers, and parents packed a Lowell School Committee budget hearing Wednesday night, urging officials to reverse proposed cuts to several positions at Lowell High School.

Among the positions on the potential chopping block are the Academic Chair for Fine Arts, a College & Career Counselor, one of three instrumental music teachers and a 20% reduction in guidance counselors. Additionally, the Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition (BRYT) at the high school would also be eliminated if the proposed cuts were agreed to.

In his remarks, Superintendent of Schools Liam Skinner acknowledged that painful budget reductions may continue for years to come, noting the district faces a structural funding problem left by the expiration of federal COVID relief money.

“We have greater revenue this year than we’ve ever had,” Skinner said. “We have millions of dollars more in our budget than we’ve ever had before. That’s been happening over recent years, but the revenue is not nearly enough to keep all of the staff and programs that we have.”

The Academic Chair for Fine Art position drew the most impassioned testimony from various speakers. The role, currently held by Jessica Davios, oversees 13 fine arts staff at Lowell High and 62 additional educators across the district — a dual responsibility speakers argued made it effectively a district-level position funded through the high school’s budget.

“Fine arts cannot be the one department without a chair,” said David Grenier, a music teacher at the Wang Middle School who has taught in Lowell for 22 years. “The current ratio of music teachers to students at LHS — three for more than 3,300 students — is already inadequate and pales in comparison to other cities and towns in Massachusetts.”

LHS Band Director Jared Logan told the committee that 716 students have already signed up for music courses next school year across 15 different offerings — up from 519 enrolled this year.

Several students also testified about how arts programs had shaped their lives.

Jordan Ferreira-Farberg, a 14-year-old LHS freshman who said he has autism, told the committee that discovering the arts helped her connect with others. ”

Before I discovered the arts, I was a kid that was commonly in my shell,” Ferreira-Farberg said. “When I found the arts, I realized I was able to communicate with others better.”

Mayor Erik Gitschier pressed the superintendent on whether the high school’s budget had room to maneuver, noting that the Fine Arts Chair position costs roughly $148,000 — about 0.38% of Lowell High’s total budget.

“When you listen to all the people talk about the effects it has, I would ask that we revisit this,” the Mayor stated.

Superintendent Skinner agreed to return to the high school administration and reconsider the full scope of proposed reductions there, including the Academic of Fine Arts, BRYT, and several student support positions. He noted that he would return back next week with an update.

Committee member Danielle McFadden raised a broader concern about the district’s long-term trajectory, asking whether the current round of cuts would close the structural gap created by ESSER fund expiration, leading Superintendent Skinner to say “it is likely we will face cutbacks for years to come.”

The district added 136 teacher positions and 138 paraprofessional positions over the past six fiscal years, largely supported by federal relief funds. The current proposal would reduce roughly 15 to 16 teachers and a similar number of paraprofessionals.

The School Committee is scheduled to continue FY27 budget deliberations at its next meeting which is scheduled for Wednesday April 8, 2026 at 5pm in the City Hall Council Chambers. No votes were taken at this meeting on anything budget related.