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Winthrop School Board approves FY27 operating, adult education and food service budgets; discusses class-size pressure
Summary
The board unanimously approved the 2026-27 operating budget of $15,497,070, an adult education budget of $87,852.27, and a food service budget of $817,041; members discussed class-size pressures at the grade school and whether to add a teacher, which would raise expenditures to 6.07%.
The Winthrop School Board unanimously approved its 2026-27 operating budget of $15,497,070 on Monday, authorizing the superintendent to present the proposal to the town council. The board also unanimously approved the school district's adult education budget of $87,852.27 (including $58,000 to be raised in support) and the food service and nutrition budget of $817,041 (no amount to be raised locally). Those votes followed deliberations about whether to add a teacher to reduce class sizes.
Board discussion focused on budget trade-offs. One option discussed would add a teacher and raise the district's proposed expenditure increase from 5.4% to 6.07%; some board members expressed concern that the town council would not support the larger increase. Principal Violet reported an unprecedented influx of 12 new first-grade students since the start of the year, which has strained staffing at that level and amplified concerns about mid-grade classroom sizes.
Student representative Abby reported recent athletic and extracurricular successes for the district. During committee reports, finance noted ongoing work on payrolls and warrants and continued research related to electric buses; policy noted outstanding questions about policy JB.
The board also approved without change the 2026-27 school calendar and completed second readings of policies EBBD (temperature standards), IHBAC (child finds) and FFA (memorials). In new business the board voted to hire Haley Dion as a second-grade teacher and approved a May 8, 2026 out-of-state field trip for high school arts students to visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and attend a theater performance; art teacher Kristen Kaiser described the itinerary.
What happens next: The superintendent will present the operating budget to the town council. The board flagged class-size pressures and indicated additional budget deliberations may be scheduled if members cannot reach a decision at the next meeting.
