Weymouth School Committee weighs ninth elementary school amid $1.87 million budget gap

WEYMOUTH -- April 25, 2024, Weymouth School Committee debates reopening Johnson School as ninth elementary amid a $1.87 million budget shortfall. Superintendent Weir told the committee Thursday that the mayor's proposed 3.8 percent budget increase for fiscal year 2025 falls $1,673,359 short of the district's request, and that added enrollment costs push the effective deficit to roughly $1.873 million. Despite that gap, Weir presented three options for the shuttered Eldon Johnson building, a Portuguese-English dual language school, an innovation school, or a traditional elementary school, each carrying a rough startup cost of approximately $1 million, almost entirely in staffing. Multiple members called the timing "tone deaf" given simultaneous discussions about staff reductions, and pressed for a formal "pause" option to be added to the community forum planned for May 8 at the Chapman Library. The committee also unanimously ratified the Weymouth Education Association Unit C contract covering 2023 to 2026 and adopted an updated student handbook.