Weymouth School Budget Sub Confronts $1.1 Million Full-Day Kindergarten Gap

WEYMOUTH -- January 13, 2021, Weymouth's School Committee Budget Subcommittee opened its fiscal year 2022 budget process facing a projected $1.1 million operating gap to sustain the district's free full-day kindergarten pilot. CFO Brian Smith reported zero state aid growth for fiscal year 2021 and estimated ESSER II federal stimulus funds at between $1.25 million and $1.75 million for Weymouth, though no guidance has been issued. A $250,000 COVID supplemental allocation tied to State Senator Patrick O'Connor remains in pending status. All eight primary schools submitted level-funded expense budgets, with staffing requests, including literacy coaches, math coaches, assistant principals, and behavioral support staff, flagged as unmet needs at Hamilton, Seach, Pingree, and West schools. Subcommittee member Kathy Curran called the $1.2 million kindergarten cost "a lot of money" in a year already projected to be financially challenging, while Chair John Sullivan warned that scaling back full-day kindergarten could leave Weymouth students further behind at the worst possible moment. The committee must decide on the program's future before February 4 to allow kindergarten registration to proceed.