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Winthrop board approves $15,497,070 operating budget and related budgets; hires teacher, OKs Boston field trip
Summary
The Winthrop School Board approved the 2026–27 operating budget of $15,497,070 (excluding nutrition and adult education), the adult education budget of $87,852.27, and the school food service budget of $817,041; the board also approved hiring Haley Dion as a second-grade teacher and a May 8 high-school trip to Boston.
The Winthrop School Board unanimously approved the proposed 2026–2027 operating budget (excluding nutrition and adult education) in the amount of $15,497,070 and authorized the superintendent to present the budget to the town council.
The board then approved the adult education budget totaling $87,852.27 (including $58,000 to be raised) and the school food service and nutrition budget of $817,041 (no funds to be raised). In each case a motion was made, seconded, and the board recorded unanimous votes on the motions as presented.
During budget deliberations board members discussed class-size pressures, an unexpected influx of first-grade students, and whether to add an additional teacher. Principal Violet explained that 12 new first-grade students enrolled since the start of the year, described supports such as the Title I learning lab and social-worker interventions, and noted staffing decisions made when enrollment was different. Board members said they were mindful of town-council appetite for increases and that adding a teacher would raise the proposed expenditure rate (the board discussed a 6.07% scenario if another teacher were added versus a 5.4% increase without it).
The board also approved a personnel motion to employ Haley Dion as a second-grade teacher; the superintendent noted Dion had served as the long-term substitute and now holds required certification. The board welcomed her vote carried unanimously.
Finally, the board approved an out-of-state field trip for high-school art, music and drama students to Boston on May 8, 2026 (Museum of Fine Arts, Faneuil Hall and a performance at River Theater in Hyde Park); art teacher Kristen Kaiser described the itinerary before the board voted.
Next steps: the superintendent will present the approved operating, adult education and nutrition budgets to the town council as authorized; the district will proceed with the newly approved hire and the May field trip according to standard procedures.
