Winthrop School Committee unanimously opts out of state school choice program

WINTHROP -- April 14, 2025, Winthrop School Committee opts out of school choice and celebrates passage of town override. The committee voted unanimously at its April 14 meeting to decline participation in the state school choice program for 2025-26, citing a gap between the roughly $5,000 state reimbursement per outside student and the district's estimated $16,000 per-pupil cost. Superintendent Lisa Mullaney reported that all three ballot questions, including a school override and a fire station debt exclusion, passed in the April election, which she said would allow the district to maintain a level-service budget and build financial stability. The committee approved a general warrant of $549,408.97 and a payroll warrant of $920,350.11, the latter on a 4-2 vote. Mullaney announced the district will present its revised budget to the Finance Committee on May 1, and that teacher contract negotiations with the Winthrop Teachers Association are set to begin May 6, with six additional union contracts also requiring negotiation before the end of the fiscal year.