Newton Rejects Ward-Underwood School Merger

School Committee · Meeting of June 15, 2026

Newton's School Committee voted 9-0 to build separate replacement schools for Ward and Underwood elementary, rejecting consolidation, and reaffirmed Ward, Underwood, Brown and Newton South as its top four building priorities. Chief Financial Officer Liam Hurley told the board the district's fiscal 2026 carry-forward balance will land near $1.1 million, about $1.5 million short of its $2.5 million goal, citing utility costs up roughly 30 percent and more than $800,000 in aide-cost overruns. "We are not hitting the mark that I wanted," Hurley said.

The committee also approved a new homework policy setting 45-to-60-minute nightly guidelines by fifth grade and 70-to-85-minute guidelines by eighth grade, and a revised timeout and physical restraint policy ahead of an August state deadline. Several parents pressed the district on why only one Bigelow Middle School student qualified for an accelerated math class, versus a proportional expectation of seven.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 4,224 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of June 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

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