At the January 20, 2026 meeting, the School Committee received and discussed the following: 

The Committee formally entered into the FY’27 Budget Public Hearing, as is required by law. This hearing was advertised, as required, in the print edition of the Wellesley Townsman on January 8th. The hearing concluded after the one community member participated.

The Administration presented updates to the budget, first introduced in early December. Since that time, staffing adjustments, due to resignations, retirement announcements, lane changes, step advances, etc, have been made resulting in a net reduction of 1.0 FTE for this update. One important change involved reallocating a vacant Teaching Assistant position to create a 0.5 FTE Student Services Secretary, funded through the I.D.E.A. grant. Interim Assistant Superintendent Midge Connelly explained that the increase in complexity of state IEP reporting forms coupled with a reduction in the reporting timeline in half has required this reallocation. With approval by the WEA and the Committee, the Technology team was restructured which resulted in a reduction of 1.0 FTE.  The Committee also discussed enrollment-driven staffing adjustments and their potential impact. Dr. Lussier, Superintendent,  emphasized adherence to district class size guidelines (22–24 students in grades 3–5) to ensure equity across the district noting that enrollment is fluid and will continue to be monitored.

With respect to the Select Board’s budget request for a town-wide $1 million reduction in cash capital, the District eliminated funding for Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment (FF&E), deferring $302,975 in FF&E requests in order to prioritize technology needs.

The Committee discussed and approved a $19,750 contract with FutureThink to perform a Comprehensive Population and Enrollment Study and Forecast for Wellesley Public Schools (WPS). FutureThink was the lowest of 3 responsive and responsible vendors, offering the best value to the Town. FutureThink will provide a 10-year, district-wide and by school enrollment projections for WPS including an overview of the school district based on current and future housing development, population trends, and birth counts. In the spring, FutureThink will make a presentation to the Committee discussing the findings of the study, the methodology used, and impacts on student enrollment.

Next, the Committee continued discussion and approved updated policies JECA (Middle School Pathways Exploration) and JG-R (Elementary Transfer Option).

Chair Niki Ofenloch provided an update on plans to install rooftop solar panels at Hardy and Hunnewell elementary schools using remaining Hardy and Hunnewell project funds, potential grant funding, and federal rebates. The Committee plans to vote at the next meeting on releasing the remaining school construction project funds for this purpose. The Committee appreciates all the efforts of Marybeth Martello, Wellesley Sustainability Director, to bring this project forward.

Coming Up………

School Committee Meetings:

Feb 24 6:30 PM

School Committee Office Hours: 

March 12 7 PM - 8 PM (Zoom) Sign up here

Link to agenda with viewing instructions

Click to access documents from the January 20, 2026 meeting. 
Click to watch the meeting on Wellesley Media.
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