Weymouth schools face 50-plus layoffs as remote plan drains $74M budget

WEYMOUTH — August 12, 2020 — Weymouth schools confront potential layoffs of more than 50 employees and a preschool tuition crisis as COVID-19 costs mount. The School Committee Budget Subcommittee met August 12 to review the district's $74,392,872 FY21 budget, with Business Manager Brian Smith reporting approximately $2.4 million in COVID-related grants — including $677,844 in approved ESSER CARES Act funds and a pending $1.3 million school reopening grant due by August 31. Superintendent Jennifer Ohrenberger warned that a remote-learning plan keeping most students out of buildings until at least November 16 could trigger reductions of more than 50 positions, including paraprofessionals, food service workers, and traffic supervisors, with some contracts requiring 30-day notice. The sharpest debate centered on Johnson Early Childhood Center, where families have threatened to unenroll rather than pay roughly $40,000 per month in tuition for remote preschool instruction for three- and four-year-olds — a move that would further deplete a revolving account already being drawn on to close a $2.2 million budget gap.