School Committee Approves Nolan's Annual Goals

School Committee · Meeting of October 14, 2026

NEWTON — The Newton School Committee voted 8-0 to approve Superintendent Nolan's annual goals and spent much of its meeting weighing a longer school bus contract to attract electric-bus bidders. Committee staff member Liam Hurley said the district got only one bidder in its last 2022 procurement and is seeking authority for a five- or 10-year term instead of the usual five, to let vendors amortize costly EV buses. Task force members cited a $1.5 million MassCEC grant, secured via Lincoln's bus contractor, as available to offset costs.

Member Ben pressed on whether a cheaper diesel bid would legally beat a pricier EV bid under current rules; Hurley said "lowest bid wins" under the district's current bidding method. Member Victor urged the committee not to switch to a scored RFP process without proof other cities have done so successfully. More than an hour of public comment, with over a dozen speakers, centered on continued objections to the district's hiring of an eighth-grade teacher over her past academic writing; the board took no action and did not respond to the comments, as is its practice.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,859 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of October 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

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