More than 20 employees, including at least 17 teachers, could lose their jobs in the Merrimack School District next year if officials cut more than $2 million from the proposed 2026-27 budget.

Administrators and School Board members at Monday's board meeting said they need to choose between making significant cuts, which could raise the student-to-teacher ratio to 25-30 students per teacher, or overburdening local taxpayers.

Chief Education Officer Everett “Bill” Olsen described the proposed staffing reductions as “a recalibration because of costs that are escalating beyond the revenues that the state has provided.”

At the next town election in April, school administrators plan to ask for less money than they’d receive under another default budget. The proposed 2026-27 budget is $96,834

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