At its October 21, 2025 meeting the School Committee received and discussed the following:

The Committee heard a presentation of the PAWS and Elementary School Improvement Plans (SIPs). Each SIP aligns with the district’s Profile of a Graduate, Strategic Plan, and Student Opportunity Act (SOA) plan, and is anchored in Strategic Plan’s Priority One: Ensuring High Expectations for Teaching and Learning. Following the direction from the Committee, the template looks different from prior years and is based on three instructional goals for each school to improve academic outcomes specifically in English, Math, and Science. Given the age of students at PAWS, that plan is broader in scope. The individual SIPs for each school are attached. PAWS Early Childhood Director, Kristen Stacy, presented an overview of her plan. In the interest of time, the elementary principals followed in pairs presenting an overview of their goals in each content area. (Two focused on ELA, two focused on Math, and two focused on Science.)

Next, the Committee heard a presentation on district attendance data from the 2024–25 school year. This discussion followed the MCAS presentation from the Committee’s October 7th meeting, where concerns about chronic absenteeism were highlighted. Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, Sandy Trach, and Director of Curriculum, Assessment, and Accountability, Dr. Hannah Tolla, led the presentation. Wellesley High School Principal, Dr. Jamie Chisum joined the discussion and helped respond to questions specific to the high school. Together, they reviewed current attendance trends, outlined supports already in place, and discussed ongoing strategies to address chronic absenteeism across the district.

The Committee then heard Assistant Superintendent, Cindy Mahr, present the third and final installment of the longitudinal budget trend analysis, a series of WPS budget analyses presented over the past several meetings. This final presentation focused on mandated programs and the general fund. Mandated services must be provided regardless of enrollment trends, and the demand in these areas remains high even as total enrollment has declined.

Committee member, Linda Chow, presented her executive summary, which will be used as the cover page, for the above mentioned longitudinal budget trend analysis. The summary also provides the background and context for the financial model and serves as a reminder to what the School Committee's responsibilities are with respect to the budget and governance.

The Committee discussed and approved the FY’26 Adjusted Budget (recast budget), which was presented at the October 7 Committee meeting. The Committee approved this recast budget and it will now serve as the baseline for the FY’27 budget development.

The Committee discussed and voted to approve the budget guidelines for FY’27, which will provide the Administration with guidance to bring forward a recommended budget in early December.

The Committee then discussed and approved the school-related language, as amended, for inclusion in the Town’s Annual Report for 2024-2025.

Coming Up………

School Committee Meeting:
November 5 6:30 PM (Zoom)

Link to agenda with viewing instructions

School Committee Office Hours: November 20 7 PM (Zoom) Sign Up

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