Committee Endorses May 5 Override Vote

School Committee · Meeting of April 16, 2026

BROOKLINE — The Brookline School Committee voted unanimously to endorse an operating property tax override for the May 5 town ballot and Town Meeting. Members also opened first reading of a rewritten student civil rights policy that drew fierce public pushback, much of it aimed at member Jesse Hefter's proposed removal of terms like "microaggression." Roland Hayes School Principal Dr. Asa Sevelius said nine other principals stood with him against the edits, while student Echo Kaufman warned "one in five transgender students who attend non-gender affirming schools try to kill themselves." The committee also voted to name the Pierce School gym and Lawrence School health clinic for longtime staffers Billy Harris and Karen Miller. Finance leader Mariah reported $1,455,285 unencumbered, about 1 percent of the budget, and $1.7 million in planned summer deferred maintenance.

The policy returns for a second reading April 30.

In the full story:

• The Full Story
• Why It Matters
• Key Motions & Votes
• Source
• Brookline's community access TV: School Committee meeting, April 16, 2026
• The complete report: 841 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of April 16, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.