Weston FinCom backs $2 million tennis court rebuild, advances 3.31 percent school budget

WESTON -- February 29, 2024, Weston Finance Committee endorses $2M tennis court rebuild and 3.31 percent school budget. Acting Chair Bharath Venkataraman led the Feb. 29 meeting in Chair Lisa's absence, with Maija Cirulis-Gooch presenting the $2.025 million CPA-funded plan to replace six high school tennis courts and an attached basketball court in post-tensioned concrete. The Weston Public Schools FY25 operating budget came in at $47,553,800, a 3.31 percent increase, with out-of-district special education tuitions up 18.6 percent over two years. Weston High School Principal Paul Perry defended a $40,000 permanent substitute position, citing past incidents of students leaving campus in Ubers and entering nearby woods with illegal substances. The committee unanimously cleared six warrant articles including roughly $460,000 in Chapter 90 funds and a $450,000 water main borrowing, but deferred votes on the tennis courts and a proposed $1 million stabilization fund transfer.