by Qinglong Diep

LOWELL — The Lowell School Committee convened last night for its second public budget hearing on the upcoming fiscal year budget, which has drawn impassioned testimony from students, parents and educators urging officials to reverse proposed cuts.

The budget, totaling more than $272 million, is said by opponents to fall disproportionately on programs that directly serve students.

Among the most controversial cuts is the elimination of Lowell High School’s Academic Chair for Fine Arts, which not only oversee the fine arts teacher at the high school, but also the other fine arts teacher across the district, music teachers and student support staffs at Lowell High School. The push to restore the position Academic Chair for Fine Arts drew the largest bloc of speakers.

Winston Kyi, a junior at Lowell High School, pointed to the City of Lowell’s motto etched into the chamber floor — “Art is the handmaid of human good” — and noted the theater department competed in the Drama Fest competition for the first time in over 20 years in large part to the Chair’s support.

“Please, before you make any decision, look at the motto on the floor in front of you,” Kyi said.

Lowell High Head of School Mike Fiato presented a revised budget developed from community feedback, recommending restoration of the Fine Arts Chair, a music teacher, Freshman Academy counselor and a College and Career Counselor. To offset those costs, he recommended reductions to “clerical student support specialists and through attrition at retirements and conclusion of long-term substitute assignments, some teachers as well”.

Due to the last minute revisions that were presented for the first time last night and not made available to members of the public and to School Committee members until the day of the meeting, Mayor Erik Gitschier said that School Committee members could not vote on affected pages without first advertising the changes to the public 48 hours in advance of a budget hearing and allowing public comment.

Superintendent Liam Skinner pushed back against characterizations of the budget as a major cut, noting the district has more than $14 million to spend in fiscal year 2027 than during the current year. However, rising costs have outpaced revenue, he noted.

“We simply cannot keep up with the positions that were added with ESSER dollars,” Skinner said, referring to expired federal COVID-19 relief funds. “No matter how we spin it, it’s going to involve position cuts.”

The School Committee voted unanimously to cancel the next regularly scheduled meeting. so that they could focus solely on the budget next Wednesday.