North Andover High School students walk out of class to protest staffing cuts
Dozens of students walked out of North Andover High School on Monday to protest staffing cuts stemming from recently announced budget reductions in the school district.
Students began filing out of the building in large numbers, many holding signs at 10 a.m., walking to the nearby football field.
"Our education won't be as strong as it once was because the teachers, they care about us. The ones that they fired, they have such a love of teaching us that I feel that our education will just go downhill," student Allie Roberts said.
North Andover budget cuts
The North Andover School Committee voted 4-1 on February 25 to recommend a $68.2 million budget for the 2025-26 school year. Though that total is an increase from the Fiscal Year 2025 budget of $62,064,629, Superintendent of Schools Pamela Lathrop said it was $3.5 million short of what is needed to maintain current services.
As a result, 40 staff members from pre-K to grade 12 were notified that their positions are being eliminated next year. Lathrop said the reductions include current staff as well as employees hired on one-year contracts.
"We understand that students want their voices to be heard. We respect their desire to advocate and encourage respectful dialogue as part of the learning process during these challenging times," Lathrop said in a statement on Saturday ahead of the planned walkout.
Assistant superintendent Kristen Ando released an updated statement on Monday. She said the administration met with about a dozen students Monday morning as they expressed concerns over the budget cuts, calling it a "productive discussion."
"We support our students in their ability and enthusiasm to be involved in their own education, thinking critically, and having their voices heard in a respectful way," Ando said. "We respect their desire to advocate and encourage respectful dialogue as part of the learning process during these challenging times. We want to support students' voices and thoughtful protest on issues important to them. This is an essential aspect of our democratic society, and one that our students study and learn about with us."
North Andover teacher reductions
Lathrop said the ending of federal stimulus funding that helped during the COVID pandemic is one of the reasons the district is having financial difficulties.
On Saturday, teachers, parents and students held a rally at North Andover Middle School to protest the budget cuts.
"Selfishly, I'm sad that I won't be here next year, but more than anything I'm just so deeply concerned about the students having one less ELA teacher," said Victoria Lonardo, a middle school English Language Arts teacher who learned she will be let go at the end of the school year.
North Andover town meeting will take place May 13 and community members will vote on whether to restore many of the positions that have been cut.
