After multiple meetings of discussion and debate, on April 6 the School Committee — including Mayor Marc Laredo — approved by unanimous vote one of the two budget proposals put forth by Superintendent Anna Nolin for the next school year (FY 2027). The approved budget of $314.5 million will increase…
Posts published by “Adam Bernstein”
On March 30, in the midst of several recent Newton Public Schools (NPS) budgeting meetings, Superintendent Anna Nolin and the School Committee held a special meeting with the State Legislators representing Newton: All are Newton residents except Rep. Lawn, who resides in Watertown. The one-hour meeting began with Dr. Nolin presenting…
The “carryforward” item within the Newton Public Schools (NPS) budget — the amount of cash unspent by NPS in the current year, which is then assumed to be expended in the next year’s budget — is a consistent source of confusion, taking much airtime during public budget meetings. NPS continues…
During March 9-16, the School Committee and NPS convened three public budget meetings to review detailed information from NPS departments regarding their budgetary methodologies and priorities. These meetings continued the dichotomy of the Superintendent, Mayor, and School Committee all acknowledging what they say is an improved budgeting process and working…
On March 2, the School Committee, including Mayor Marc Laredo, met with Superintendent Anna Nolin and NPS Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Liam Hurley in a public but unrecorded budget meeting at the Education Center. The meeting was also attended by Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Ayesha Farag and observed…
The regularly scheduled February 2 School Committee meeting focused on the ongoing revisions to the Newton Public Schools (NPS) math curriculum. Ahead of the curriculum presentation, the School Committee approved proposed fee increases for various ancillary NPS programs such as musical instrument education, early-morning and after-school programs, and athletics. Increases…
The January 7 School Committee meeting was the first regularly scheduled biweekly meeting of the recently elected 2026-2027 School Committee, and it was led by new Chair Alicia Piedalue. In her regular update, Superintendent Anna Nolin highlighted the Kindergarten enrollment period starting on March 2 and requested families with children…
On January 5, the School Committee — including new Mayor Marc Laredo — held a “retreat” at the Education Center with Superintendent Anna Nolin, Assistant Superintendent Ayesha Farag, and NPS General Counsel Jill Murray Grady. While nominally open to the public per Open Meeting Law, retreats are not broadcast nor…
As NPS approaches its December break, the district’s fulsome response to Year 2024’s Ballot Question 2, the statewide repeal of passing the MCAS tests as a requirement to graduate from a Massachusetts public high school, is coming into clearer focus. Changes to NPS’ graduation requirements must conform to statewide requirements…
In its customary post-election leadership caucus, the School Committee members-elect met on Monday, November 17, in a public but unrecorded session and unanimously elected Alicia Piedalue (Ward 7) the following year’s Committee Chair and Jason Bhardwaj (Ward 3) Vice Chair. Those voting were the members-elect, including Mayor-elect Marc Laredo, who…
During the October 6 School Committee meeting, a blink-and-you-missed-it 30-second portion of Dr. Anna Nolin’s regular Superintendent’s update gave a window into ongoing frictions and growing pains between two conjoined Newton institutions that are managed far differently today than only a few years ago: This wider context colors the public’s…
As in 2023 and 2024, Dr. Anna Nolin met with Fig City News at the start of this school year for a lengthy discussion of academics, the district’s goals for the upcoming school year, and the current topics of interest to the community. The following interview has been edited for…