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.