Brookline School Committee approves $1.79M maintenance plan ahead of May override vote

BROOKLINE — March 26, 2026 — Brookline School Committee votes on budget transfers and hears override update with May 5 vote five weeks away. The committee unanimously approved transferring a $1,293,047 deferred maintenance balance into the current FY27 appropriation for a new total of $1,793,047, and separately reallocated $54,500 from a vehicle replacement line to the schools repair and maintenance budget. Superintendent Bella Wong reported that the Select Board has placed a $23.25 million override on the May 5 ballot, with $7.94 million earmarked for schools, and said the administration is negotiating with the Brookline Educators Union to push contractual reduction-in-force deadlines past the election date — currently May 1 for non-PTS staff and May 15 for PTS staff. The committee also sent a long-stalled student civil rights policy back to legal counsel and staff for restructuring after equity consultant Karen Maguire and committee members including policy chair Andy Liu could not agree on whether proposed edits constituted light revisions or a fundamental rewrite. Deputy Superintendent of Operations, Accountability, and Finance Susan Givens announced her retirement effective at the end of the school year.