Winthrop Council Sets April 5 Vote on Schools Override and New Firehouse

WINTHROP -- January 21, 2025, Winthrop's Town Council voted to hold a single Saturday, April 5 election asking voters to approve a $4.95 million school override and a debt exclusion for a roughly $40 million new fire station. The council voted 8-1 to switch the proposed firehouse site from Walden Street to the former Winthrop Middle School campus on Pauline Street, reversing its own earlier vote after Council President Paul Macary argued the middle school location had the best chance of passing and no near-term development plan for the parcel had emerged. School Committee Chair Jennifer Powell presented restructured override language splitting the ask into two independent questions, $3.5 million for the fiscal 2026 operating budget and $1.45 million for a new school stabilization fund, which the council approved unanimously; Superintendent Lisa Howard warned that a failed vote would force teacher layoffs and larger class sizes. The council also unanimously extended Town Manager Anthony Marino's contract for five years at 2.5 percent annual raises and approved a five-year trash contract with Capital Waste Services at 6 percent in year one. A 10-year renewal of the town's mitigation agreement with the MWRA, worth roughly $10 million and beginning at $934,576 in fiscal 2026, passed 7-1-1, with Councilor John DeMarco voting no because Winthrop serves as sole first responder for Deer Island.