Burlington School Committee Accepts $456,617 State Literacy Grant for Early Readers

BURLINGTON -- September 30, 2025, Burlington School Committee unanimously accepts $456,617 state literacy grant and advances $334 million high school toward November debt exclusion vote. The committee voted 5-0 Tuesday to accept the competitive DESE grant, designated FC 0593, which Superintendent Dr. Eric Conte credited to literacy coordinator Dr. Bonnie Nichols; $225,000 of the award will fund implementation support through Schoolkit, $34,000 will compensate teacher leaders across four elementary schools, and up to $197,617 will purchase additional CKLA curriculum materials with a 50 percent state reimbursement. Separately, the committee was informed that Town Meeting the previous night had approved a roughly $334 million appropriation for the new Burlington High School, with the Select Board setting November 15 as the special election date for the required debt exclusion. School Committee member Jeremy Brooks cautioned that the Town Meeting vote "is only one step, so the project isn't moving forward until that happens." The committee also voted to remove Fox Hill School Building Committee member George Papianis, who has taken a school principal role, and closed the meeting by entering executive session to address an open meeting law complaint filed September 15 by resident Adam Sanessi.