Winthrop School Committee forwards two override questions to Town Council

WINTHROP -- January 15, 2025, Winthrop School Committee votes 7-0 to send two separate override questions to the Town Council. The committee approved a menu-format structure Wednesday, splitting what had been a single tiered question into a $3.5 million operating override and a $1.45 million school stabilization fund question, each of which voters could approve or reject independently. Superintendent Jim Letary warned that if only the stabilization question passes, the district would still face an approximately $3.5 million FY26 budget deficit, saying the district would be "approximately $3.5 in the hole" and would need to petition the Town Council to access any stabilization funds. At an assessed value of roughly $683,000, the operating question would cost a homeowner about $660 per year; the stabilization question would cost about $270. The ballot language, which has been reviewed by a Department of Labor Services attorney, must still clear the Secretary of State's office before it is finalized, and the Town Council was expected to decide Tuesday whether the override would appear on a standalone special election, with March 11 identified as the earliest possible date.