Newton School Committee Unanimously Approves Visitor Policy, FY27 Budget Priorities

NEWTON — January 26, 2026 — Newton School Committee approves visitor policy and budget priorities, sends $543,000 fee package back for revision. The committee voted 9-0 at its January 26 meeting to adopt a revised Visitors to School policy, with Ward 1 member Jason Grossfield successfully amending the final sentence to affirm that parents and guardians may initiate school visits — not only accept invitations from building principals. A companion policy on school buildings and grounds was held after members raised unresolved questions about whether adjacent city-owned parks and shared pathways fall within its scope, with counsel directed to consult the city solicitor's office. The budget priority guidelines, assembled and re-ranked by Grossfield after a forced-ranking exercise by all nine ward members and Mayor Marc Laredo, also passed 9-0. Three fee-increase memos projecting $543,000 in new annual revenue — covering the music lesson extension program, two preschool programs, and a broad schedule including athletics, busing, and extracurriculars — were sent back for revision after members objected to increases of 20 to 25 percent in multiple categories; Assistant Superintendent and CFO Liam Hurley said he would return with a revised schedule, a proposed annual escalator of roughly 3 percent, and clearer cost-recovery rationale for each fee. Custodians Jesse Brackett of Zervas Elementary and Alvaro Hernandez of Oak Hill Middle School delivered what members described as the first-ever presentation by the Newton Public Schools Custodian Association, introducing a "Portrait of a Custodian" document modeled on the district's Portrait of a Learner and covering the work of 89 full-time custodians across 23 school buildings.