Watertown Schools Reinstate Athletic Fees 4-3

School Committee · Meeting of March 16, 2026

Watertown School Committee voted 4-3 to reinstate athletic and extracurricular fees after two fee-free years. High school athletes will pay $250 for a first sport, $200 for a second and nothing for a third, with reduced fees cut to $50 and $25 for qualifying families; middle schoolers face a new $50 athletics fee plus a separate $50 extracurricular fee. Member Mark Sedaris warned "the more we raise it, the more we're going to lose kids," while member Lisa Kapocha said she'd vote no, calling the fee hike inconsistent with the district's equity goals.

Separately, the committee rejected a plan to merge elementary and middle school bus routes onto one vehicle. Superintendent Galson reported the district closed most of a $2.5 million deficit through attrition and reorganization, leaving a $701,732 positive budget delta ahead of a March 23 public hearing.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of March 16, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

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