Committee approves one-time summer pay increase and lets seniors buy Chromebooks; user fees will revert to pre-pandemic levels

The school committee approved two operational budget items and discussed next steps for user fees during its May 12 meeting.

Summer staffing pay: administrators asked for a one-time increase in summer staffing pay from $35 to $45 per hour to remain competitive for enrichment and credit-recovery programs. They said most summer programming funding will come from ESSER grants and a partnership with the Boys & Girls Club. The committee approved the request; the roll-call produced one abstention.

Chromebooks for seniors: the committee voted unanimously to permit graduating seniors to purchase the district-issued Chromebooks they have been using for $25 if they wish. Administrators said devices are aging and that selling them avoids recycling/disposal costs while providing students optional ownership.

User fees: the committee discussed that pandemic-era reductions to athletics and music fees were written to cover only the current school year and, without a new motion, those fees will revert to the pre-pandemic schedule next fiscal year (for example, prior family cap was $600 and certain sport fees return to prior rates). Finance staff estimated the lost revenue from the temporary reduction to be $40,000–$50,000 per year.

Voting details: the chromebook purchase motion passed unanimously; the summer-pay motion passed with one abstention. Committee members asked staff to notify families about fee changes well before registration.