Subcommittee backs $10 instrument fee for schools
Watertown's School Committee Budget and Finance Subcommittee reviewed a $67.1 million preliminary fiscal 2027 budget that leaves a $2.5 million gap against the city's 4 percent funding guidance.
School Committee · Meeting of January 26, 2026
Watertown's School Committee Budget and Finance Subcommittee reviewed a $67.1 million preliminary fiscal 2027 budget that leaves a $2.5 million gap against the city's 4 percent funding guidance. Staff presenter Lisa Gibbons said special education tuition rose $2,111,916 year over year, with some out-of-district placements seeing 30 percent increases versus the state's typical 3.7 percent benchmark. Member Lisa Kaposha pushed staff to weigh central-office staffing cuts "as much, if not more than building staff" if reductions are needed.
Staff outlined up to $2.8 million in potential offsets, including tapping circuit breaker reimbursements, reinstating athletic fees and raising bus and building-rental fees. The subcommittee voted 3-0, with Kaposha, Jessica Middlebrook and Rachel Craig in favor, to recommend a new $10 annual rental fee for school-owned musical instruments to the full committee.
In the full story:
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Source: the School Committee meeting of January 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.
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