The Swampscott School Committee unanimously approved the school district’s proposed $35,484,012 budget for the 2027 fiscal year on Thursday.

“I am incredibly comfortable where we landed,” said School Committee Chair Glenn Paster. “I’m ecstatic that we kept it under 4%.”

The approved budget comes in at a 3.96% increase from the 2026 fiscal year. It will go to the Town Meeting Members’ approval in May. Superintendent Jason Calichman called the proposed budget “fiscally responsible” at the School Committee’s last meeting.

“I think we have done an amazing job conserving what is going on in some of our contemporary towns around us,” said Paster. “I am very pleased and proud of this budget and I am beyond hopeful that these numbers will carry through to Town Meeting.”

Calichman said he is proud of the work done by his team and proud that the district is moving forward in a smart manner.

Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Cheryl Herrick-Stella shared that the district is receiving an estimated net increase of $382,462 in state aid for the 2027 fiscal year.

In a summary presented by Herrick-Stella on January 22, the budget was split up into five cost centers: administration, district wide programs, general education, school facilities and special education. The biggest increase from the 2026 fiscal year to the 2027 fiscal year will be within administration, with a projected increase of 18.35%.

Herrick-Stella said the administrative increase can be attributed to lane changes for teachers and non-union salary increases, or the equivalent to promotions and salary increases. There are 71 anticipated lane changes for next year, compared to a recent average of 47 per year.

Increases in the other four cost centers range from .28% in district wide programs to 6.75% in school facilities. The rise in school facilities costs are driven by new contracts with electric and gas providers.

“The majority of our budget is going to students themselves, not overhead costs or utility bills,” said Herrick-Stella.

The elementary, middle and high school projected budgets are expected to rise 1.6%, 6.4% and 5% respectively. Multi-tiered support systems, additional teaching roles at the middle school, professional development and high quality instructional materials at the high school were some of the areas of focus for new investments in the schools.