Methuen, MA – Ahead of tonight’s City Council votes on the FY26 budget, Mayor D.J. Beauregard announced that his administration has identified an additional $320,000 in funding to help preserve teaching positions in the Methuen Public Schools.
The additional funding will be made available by directing the full amount of projected FY26 meals tax and billboard revenues into the city’s general fund.
“I’ve been clear from the start: we need to do everything we can to keep teachers in classrooms,” said Mayor Beauregard. “By making this adjustment, we’re freeing up $320,000 to prevent the loss of potentially five teaching positions in the year ahead.”
In addition, Mayor Beauregard committed that any cuts made by the City Council to the city-side budget during tonight’s deliberations will be redirected to the school budget to help save even more positions.
These moves are part of the administration’s continued push to find responsible, short-term solutions that protect core classroom instruction while longer-term efforts continue to improve financial sustainability across city and school operations.
Mayor Beauregard also emphasized that the city’s work is far from done. “We’re continuing to explore additional ways to free up even more funding to protect mission-critical, student-facing classroom positions,” he said.
The funding commitments will be reflected in the final version of the FY26 budget submitted for City Council approval tonight.