Committee elects new chair, hears budget warning

School Committee · Meeting of January 12, 2026

Watertown School Committee reorganized and warned of a $2.5 million budget gap for fiscal year 2027. Members unanimously elected Kendra Foley chair, Jessica Middlebrook vice chair and Amy Donahue secretary. The superintendent said the gap equals roughly 8 percent of the needed budget and outlined offsets including circuit breaker reimbursements and possible athletic fee reinstatement.

Vice Chair Middlebrook said she wants "to not return costs to families and kids whenever possible." CTE programming lead Laura Alderson said the district is awaiting word on a $5 million federal expansion grant for new carpentry, plumbing and electrical programs, on top of a $250,000 MassCEC clean-energy grant and a $180,740 equipment grant. Officials confirmed the new high school will open in September, about a month behind original construction targets. The committee also approved its 2026-27 school calendar and $11,981.81 in gifts.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of January 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.