Weymouth School Committee Sends Attendance Buyback Policy Back for Third Reading

WEYMOUTH -- May 15, 2025, Weymouth School Committee approves 5 percent fee hike and splits on student attendance buyback. The committee voted unanimously to raise most school fees 5 percent for fiscal year 2026, a move Assistant Superintendent Brian Smith said would generate more than $100,000 toward balancing the district's budget, while also approving roughly 2.5 percent increases to substitute and extended school year rates. The lengthiest debate centered on a proposed student handbook provision that would allow Weymouth High School students to erase one unexcused attendance failure per year by attending seven consecutive school days after reaching a fifth unexcused absence in a term, a program Principal Karen Monaghan acknowledged had been piloted "without proper procedures." Data presented by Dean Karen Bonner showed 30 students used the program this school year, including a top-10-ranked student whose grade would have fallen to 59 percent and a high-risk student who earned 95 percent in Algebra II in terms where the buyback applied. Member Karen Surdyka said the policy rewards absenteeism, "I'm not in favor of giving anyone a pass, show up, you earn it", while member Daniel Salvucci called the data "compelling." Chair Kathy Nardone proposed continuing it as a pilot rather than a codified handbook policy, and the committee sent both the attendance item and a revised public comment policy to a third reading at the June 5 meeting. The district's Scrap Robotics team received mayoral citations after winning a Rookie All-Star Award at the New England Robotics Championship and earning a World Championship invitation to Houston.