Lowell School Committee Votes to Restore Three Student Support Specialist Positions in $287.9M Budget

MIDDLETON -- May 6, 2026, Lowell School Committee approves cuts to fund three disputed student support positions ahead of $287.9 million budget vote. The seven-member committee voted 7-0 on May 6 to authorize $400,000 in line-item reductions, cutting $52,000 from two part-time positions, $100,000 from school committee expenses, and $248,000 from a Title I reserve fund, after members discovered that three student support specialist positions at Lowell High School they believed they had reinstated at the April 22 meeting had not been included in the final FY27 budget document. Superintendent explained that six positions had entered a suspense account but three were redirected to fund a fine arts chair and music teacher at the high school's request, leaving only three to restore at the final meeting. Member Kathy McFadden said she had reviewed video of the prior meeting and contacted a position holder directly to confirm six were being restored before learning otherwise: "We've been playing ping pong with people. You have a job, you don't have a job." The committee scheduled a special meeting for the following Monday at 5:30 p.m. to formally vote the corrected $287,966,413 bottom line for submission to the city manager.