The Gardner Public Schools facilities subcommittee reported on May 1 a slate of maintenance and capital projects for district buildings, including an estimated $500,000 electrical and theatrical lighting upgrade for Gardner High School’s auditorium and an estimated $50,000 kitchen hood and exhaust replacement.
The Gardner School Committee moved multiple policy items from committee packets to adoption, approving several B-series policies on committee authority, qualifications and subcommittees and adopting policy on committee member resignation.
The school committee voted to accept updates to the program of studies and heard that Gardner’s Early College Academy will grow to about 104 seats next year, Monty Tech vocational seats remain limited after state denials, and the district will adopt a SchoolLinks platform to organize college and career planning.
The Gardner School Committee approved an interim competency determination policy allowing students to meet graduation competency through prior MCAS scores or specified course completions for the class of 2025 and near term while DESE revises statewide rules.
After a public hearing, the Gardner School Committee approved a $37,676,548 fiscal year 2026 budget, citing rising enrollment and higher special-education and transportation costs as main drivers of a remaining $474,231 deficit.
On March 10 the Gardner School Committee approved the consent agenda, advanced multiple policies to second/final reading, adopted school improvement plans and approved several out-of-state and overnight student trips by voice vote.
The finance subcommittee reported increased costs and negative line items for gas, police/fire detail and snow removal; health insurance, custodial contracts, transportation and Chromebooks were cited as major budget drivers.
Dr. Pellegrino told the Gardner School Committee that district data show 64.27% fidelity for common planning time and 67% of students reading at grade level on DIBELS; gaps for students with disabilities and English learners persist. Kindergarten registration is ahead of past years with 98 completed applications.
The committee reported awarding about $209,000 in Rockwell grants to teachers for arts, STEM, field trips and equipment; committee members listed dozens of funded projects and said the fund has distributed about $820,000 since inception.