Stoneham School Committee Reveals $4.77 Million Salary Offer, Rebuilt Salary Table

STONEHAM — March 12, 2026 — Stoneham School Committee reveals $4.77 million salary increase needed to bring teachers to mid-market pay. Superintendent Dr. Jamie DeFrancisco presented a 51-slide budget update March 12 showing the district rebuilt its entire teacher salary table from scratch to ensure Stoneham lands at the midpoint of 11 comparable districts — Bedford, Wakefield, Wilmington, Saugus, Tewksbury, Medford, North Reading, Lynnfield, Reading, and Melrose — at every step and lane. The average increase across the full table is 21.7 percent, with the highest single-cell increase at 29.6 percent. The total FY27 salary cost for teachers, ESPs, and secretaries under the current offer would be $30,223,281, a $4,771,952 jump over FY26 — roughly $200,000 more than the $4.5 million figure cited during last fall's 9.3 percent tax override campaign. To fund the increase, the district reallocated $111,880 from professional development, $100,000 from curriculum, and $500,000 from utilities — the last made possible because the high school's solar array failed to go operational at the start of the year. A $237,012 cost for 11 ESP paid holidays remains unresolved, with the next bargaining session set for March 24 and no end time imposed.