At its October 7, 2025 meeting, held in a hybrid format with a quorum in the Town Hall’s Great Hall and others online, the School Committee received and discussed the following:

The Committee heard Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, Sandy Trach, and Director of Curriculum, Assessment, and Accountability, Dr. Hannah Tolla, present the district’s 2025 MCAS results. This annual report reviewed student performance, progress, and areas for continued growth. New this year, all 8th grade students took a civics test as part of the assessment. Additionally, the report assessed the status of chronic absenteeism in the district. While MCAS is no longer a high school graduation requirement, it remains central to the state’s school accountability system.

Next, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, Cindy Mahr, presented the FY '26 Adjusted Budget, which updates the budget approved at Town Meeting and will, if approved, become the new base for the FY' 27 Budget. The overall budget remains balanced at $94.04 million.The Committee plans to vote on the adjusted budget at the October 21st Committee meeting.

The Committee reviewed FY’26 grants brought forward by Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, Cindy Mahr. She shared that Wellesley received a total of $2.85 million in new grant funding for the year. This includes $1.3 million in state grants, such as the METCO and school health grants, as well as a $32,000 Civics Teaching and Learning trust award. The district also received $1.5 million in federal funding across several Title and special education grants, with no reductions anticipated this year. Ms. Mahr noted that the district continues to use carry-forward funds from prior years and is working to spend those resources efficiently. The Committee approved acceptance of the FY’26 grants.

The Committee discussed early guidance on the budget guidelines from the Town for the FY '27 budget, as well as, the interest in approving the WPS budget outside of the normal omnibus budget at Town Meeting. Under the proposed format, the school budget would be a separate motion, with expenses shared with other town departments shown alongside for greater transparency. The Committee expects a 3% budget guideline and asked the administration to prepare three budget scenarios: a 3% guideline budget, a level-service budget, and one reflecting key priorities from the 4th year of the District’s Strategic Plan.

The Committee continued its review of the longitudinal budget trend analyses, focusing on the budget drivers personnel and enrollment. Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, Cindy Mahr, shared that while district staffing has declined slightly over the past decade, salary costs have increased by approximately 33% due to contractual obligations such as cost-of-living and step and lane increases due to the deep experience and academic credentials of the staff. Student enrollment has dropped by 22%, but the proportion of students requiring specialized support has grown, along with increases in English learners and low-income students. The Committee discussed how these factors shape the school budget and ways to share this analysis more widely with the community.

The Committee then heard Committee member, Linda Chow, describe the draft Executive Summary that is designed to accompany the longitudinal budget analyses and explain how Wellesley Public Schools operates within the broader town and state context. The document highlights why school spending continues to rise amid declining enrollment and includes comparative data and explanations of modern educational practices. Committee members may submit edits before the next meeting on October 21.

The Committee heard Director of Communications and Community Engagement, Sharon Gray, review the annual draft WPS contribution to the Town’s Annual Report for the 2024–25 school year. Ms.Gray presented the eight-page report highlighting staffing, budget, academics, arts, athletics, facilities, enrollment, and retirements from the last school year. Members commended the draft and will submit any edits before voting at the next meeting. In addition to Ms. Gray’s work on the annual report, her recent work on creating a monthly school district newsletter was recognized by Dr. Lussier.

The Committee continued discussion on the proposed job description for the Finance and Operations Manager position that was presented at the 9/16 Committee meeting. This role is an existing support role changed to reflect expanded responsibilities to address the district’s increasing need for high-level analytical, financial, and operational support that extends beyond the scope of traditional administrative duties. The Committee approved the updated job description.

In closing business, the Committee revisited creating a School Committee self-evaluation tool. Member, Christina Horner, will adapt the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) school committee evaluation rubric and coordinate with MASC’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging committee to strengthen the equity lens, aiming to meet the district’s 2017 policy requirement and improve the process annually. Ms. Horner will bring a tool back to the Committee for approval.

Coming Up………

School Committee Meeting:
October 21 (Zoom)

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