Weston School Committee unanimously approves $51.4 million FY27 operating budget

WESTON -- March 10, 2026, Weston School Committee voted 5-0 to advance a $51,361,325 fiscal year 2027 operating budget, a 3.95 percent increase, to the Finance Committee and annual town meeting. Chair Adam Newman called the roll on the remote meeting after all five members, Kenneth Newberg, Tiao Xie, Jane Li, Stephen Dietz, and Newman himself, offered brief statements; Newberg urged the committee to ensure every item is "a must have, as opposed to it's a great idea," while Dietz praised the process as unusually priority-driven. Finance Director Dave Coelho separately presented a second-quarter report projecting a $535,000 year-end surplus, with caveats around utility costs and special education tuitions. Curriculum Director Deb Moriarty updated the committee on the district's K-5 EL Education literacy rollout, reporting that grades four and five at Field School have nearly completed two of four annual modules and that a new PRISM 2-funded coach from School Kit will begin classroom visits the following week. The committee also voted unanimously to enter executive session for collective bargaining strategy discussions covering three active negotiations, with the teachers union, the paraprofessionals association, and the bus drivers.