Melrose School Committee Approves Override-assisted FY27 Budget

MELROSE, MA — The School Committee voted unanimously to approve the district’s operating budget for Fiscal Year 2027 during its most recent meeting, totaling $53,937,000.

Superintendent of Schools Cari Berman and Deputy Superintendent Dan Kelley led a presentation detailing what the proposed budget will fund, and what effect the recent $13.5 million tax override will have on it. According to the city, the override will directly fund 17 school positions and restore the team-based education model for the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School this coming fall. $3.8 million of the override funds is designated for public schools. This year’s budget is nearly $6 million more than FY26, where many positions had to be eliminated due to constraints.

The elementary portion of the budget, which is worth more than $17 million, will fund one new teacher position at the Hoover, Roosevelt, and Winthrop schools. In addition, it will also go toward a special education interventionist for the schools and a counselor at Lincoln. The middle and high school portion of the budget is worth more than $18 million and will primarily fund the restoration of eight teacher roles.

“With some of these pieces and strengthening our tier one instruction for all students in our general education curriculum through restoring these positions and hopefully being able to support the services that may be proposed through a student’s IEP team, we feel like we are using these 17 positions in a wise way across the district,” Berman said.

Berman and Kelley said that the budget plan also includes the intention to create a STEM Director role, who will assist Executive Director of Academics and Accountability Melanie Acevedo with the implementation of a new mathematics curriculum.

“Melaine (Acevedo) has done a lot of work to support just math at the secondary level and everywhere. She needs help,” Berman said. “Having another set of eyes to give feedback to teachers would help. Teachers deserve feedback like our students deserve feedback.”

Before the vote, Committee members expressed their overall satisfaction with the budget.

“We have gotten two very tough budget years,” Committee member Jennifer Razi-Thomas said. “We are in such a better position to provide our students and educators with what they need to provide the best possible educational opportunities to all of our students o I just want to say thank you.”

Mayor Jen Grigoraitis is slated to present the entire city’s FY27 budget in May.

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