Brookline School Committee News

The School Committee met on Thursday, November 13. There were several financial updates at the meeting including the FY25 Budget Close Report (summarizing FY25 end-of-year finances including general fund budget vs. spending by line items summary; general fund budget vs. spending by cost center; and financial activity for special revenue funds) and the FY26 1st Quarter Report (summarizing the status of the general fund operating budget, special revenue funds that support the overall financial plan, and narrative highlights of areas being monitored closely). Overall, FY26 spending is on target. Staff also presented a preliminary 5-year budget forecast. The forecast does not include any analysis for efficiencies or items to be recommended for restoration or improvement. The forecast was developed to aid the Town in financial planning, but does not represent final numbers or assumptions that will be presented as part of the budget development process. Click here to listen to the financial update presentations.

The meeting also featured a comprehensive report on the district’s designation of significant disproportionality by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. DESE uses a formula to measure if students within certain demographics are disproportionately more or less likely to be identified for special education. In the past 5 years, DESE has twice identified the PSB as having a significantly disproportionate share of Black and African American students identified with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). The district is working to analyze and address the root causes that contribute to this significant disproportionality. The action plan to make progress to address this finding may include work in literacy instruction, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), the Student Intervention Team (SIT) process, high dosage tutoring, and other trainings and interventions. Click here to watch the presentation on disproportionality.

The School Committee reviewed and discussed 2026-2027 calendar options at their October 22, November 6 and November 13 meetings. Many members of the PSB community spoke during public comment at these meetings, and many others wrote to the School Committee over the last several weeks to share their opinions and suggestions. The School Committee appreciates all of the thoughtful feedback.

The School Committee voted to approve the 2026-2027 district calendar known as Option C: students will begin school on September 3, 2026, the last day of school will be June 21, 2027, and the district will maintain the current school closures for religious and cultural celebrations. School Committee members also requested that Superintendent Wong review the current practice around homework assignments and tests around holidays. Click here for the School Committee’s calendar discussion and vote at the November 13 meeting.

The School Committee will not meet this week due to Town Meeting. The next School Committee meetings are Thursday, December 4 and Thursday, December 18. The schedule of all School Committee regular meetings (and subcommittee meetings) is available on the Town's agenda center. As each meeting approaches, the agenda and supporting documents are uploaded. Meeting agendas will always include the time, location, method of remote access, and (for regular meetings) details for public comment. Meeting recordings and meeting documents are also posted on the School Committee's meeting materials page.

If you would like to receive meeting agendas as soon as they are publicly available, sign-up through the Town’s Agenda Center. Log-in, click the “subscriptions” button, and toggle the School Committee option. You can use this feature to receive meeting notices for any of the Town’s public boards and commissions.

• The Policy and Curriculum Subcommittees will hold a joint meeting on Tuesday, November 18 at 5:00pm to review the district’s proposed Competency Determination (CD). The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires each district to create a new CD following the 2024 ballot referendum that removed MCAS as a graduation requirement.
• The Policy Subcommittee will meet on Tuesday, November 18, at 5:45pm. The subcommittee is expected to review a draft policy for Instructional Materials, and to review updates to Section K of the policy manual for building usage and access.

Agendas and related documents for all subcommittee meetings are made available on the School Committee's meeting materials page.

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