Winthrop School Committee unanimously adopts long-awaited policy manual overhaul

WINTHROP — September 8, 2025 — Winthrop School Committee unanimously adopts full policy manual overhaul and approves over $1 million in warrants to open the school year. The committee voted 7-0 Monday to adopt a comprehensive update to the district's policy manual, the result of roughly two and a half years of work coordinated with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees using one-time federal ESSER funds; policies will now be publicly searchable on the MASC website. Two financial warrants — a general expenditure warrant of $114,421 and a payroll warrant of $891,256.74 — passed on roll-call votes, with member Mr. Martucci abstaining from the payroll vote. Superintendent Jill Donahue reported current enrollment of approximately 2,010 students and said the district's new PowerSchool system should improve the accuracy of state data submissions tied to Chapter 70 funding. Two residents, Kelly Pettis of 956 Shirley Street and neighbor Darren Green, pressed the committee over what they described as systematic errors in the MapQuest-based routing tool used to deny bus service to a kindergartner whose walking distance they measured as exceeding the state's two-mile threshold.