Medfield School Committee Votes 5-0 to Adopt 3.64 Percent FY27 Budget Increase

PEPPERELL — April 9, 2026 — Medfield School Committee adopts 3.64 percent FY27 budget increase, aligning with town ahead of May 4 override vote. The committee voted 5-0 Thursday to lower its budget request from a previously approved 5.02 percent, requiring $609,836 in reductions identified by Superintendent Dr. Jeff Marston, including the elimination of Mandarin at the elementary level, a high school English teacher position, and a reassignment of a Dale Street fourth-grade teacher to fill a Wheelock second-grade vacancy. Marston warned that if the May 4 operating override fails, the district would need to cut an additional nine positions — more than doubling current reductions to 13.55 total positions — at a budget level of approximately 1.8 to 1.9 percent. "This has to pass," said Warrant Committee member Ed Vazella of 65 Woodland Lane. "We cannot afford to let this slip away." The committee also voted unanimously to approve $300,000 in technology capital and $825,000 in school building capital, appointed newly elected members Rosalie Weiss to the School Building Committee and Michael McCabe and Sophia Nicholas to the Mobile Phone and Social Media Task Force, and confirmed Chair Michelle Kirkby as the district's designee to the MSBA Designer Selection Committee for the Dale Street school project.