School Committee approves $70.5M FY27 budget

School Committee · Meeting of April 14, 2026

Burlington's School Committee elected Katherine Bond chair and approved a $70,474,253 fiscal 2027 operating budget. Outgoing Chair Melissa Massardo backed Meghan Nawoichik over Jeremy Brooks for vice chair, saying Brooks already chairs the Fox Hill field committee and serves as the committee's Recreation Commission appointee; Nawoichik won 3-2. The committee also approved a $16,835,321 accommodated budget, up 3.5 percent, or $569,310, driven by rising out-of-district special education tuition rates.

Superintendent Dr. Eric Conti said the operating budget hit the low end of a 4.25 to 4.5 percent guideline set by the Select Board and Ways and Means Committee by cutting three kindergarten sections through attrition, not layoffs. Resident Mimi Bix-Hylan questioned a $155,000 DEI instructional coach salary at the high school ahead of Town Meeting. The committee voted 4-0-1, with Brooks abstaining, to submit a Statement of Interest to the MSBA for Burlington High School.

In the full story:

• The Full Story
• Why It Matters
• Key Motions & Votes
• Source
• Burlington's community access TV: School Committee meeting, April 14, 2026
• The complete report: 1,082 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of April 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.