Winthrop Public Schools superintendent proposes 5.21% FY27 budget increase, prioritizing safety, interventions and facility repairs

Winthrop Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Fulby presented the district's FY27 budget proposal to the school board, describing a 5.21% increase in expenditures driven largely by salaries, benefits and higher electricity costs. The budget centers on three priorities: safety, student achievement and capital improvements.

"Lori has dedicated four years of thoughtful committed service to our school community," Dr. Fulby said while announcing the retirement of Winthrop Middle School principal Lorie Smail, before turning to the budget presentation and district priorities. The superintendent said the administration developed the proposal by reviewing needs-based submissions from administrators and examining historical spending.

On safety, the administration requested $50,000 to install security cameras at the grade school comparable to existing systems at the middle and high schools. For student achievement, the budget proposal includes staffing changes to target math and multilingual-learner needs: restructuring the librarian role to create a middle-level math interventionist at no net new cost, and increasing multilingual-learner staffing from 0.2 to 0.5 districtwide.

The proposal also seeks to raise the capital repairs line from $100,000 to $150,000 for FY27 to address more than $2 million in identified building repairs. The administration asked to add $5,000 to the turf reserve, which currently holds $21,000, to reduce the future replacement burden.

The superintendent reported signs of improving student outcomes: NWEA reading proficiency increased from 69% to 73% and math from 64% to 69%, though 7th-grade math performance declined to 53% above the 40th percentile and the current eighth-grade cohort shows the lowest math levels over the past three years. Graduation rates were noted to have risen from 77% for the class of 2024 to 84% for the class of 2025.

To limit the budget increase from an initial projection above 7%, administrators recommended reductions including eliminating a 0.5 administrative assistant position in special education, restructuring the middle-school library position instead of adding a 0.5 math-certified teacher, reducing a 0.5 special-education teacher position, reducing a 0.5 gifted-and-talented position and cutting transportation director hours. Insurance costs remain uncertain; the budget currently assumes a 10% increase.

The district will receive an additional $589,382 in state subsidy for FY27 tied to increased enrollment, the superintendent said, reporting 36 new students this year — roughly a 4.5% enrollment increase — and noting the mill rate has been reduced. Several requested items were not funded in the proposal, including an additional 0.5 science teacher at the high school, an additional ed-tech at the grade school, and various capital projects.

Board members asked for a cost estimate of the unfunded requests; Dr. Fulby agreed to provide those figures at the next board meeting. Administrators will present individual budget details at the following meeting and the district will host a community forum on March 19 at 6 p.m. at the high school for informal conversations about budget cost centers.

The superintendent characterized the budget as a balance between fiscal stewardship and strengthening Winthrop Public Schools, emphasizing the district's intent to support student success while managing taxpayer responsibility. The board has not yet adopted the FY27 budget; next steps include detailed cost-center presentations and formal adoption procedures.