Wayland school finance panel approves May minutes, sets fall schedule

WAYLAND — August 2, 2023 — Wayland's School Committee Finance Subcommittee uses an orientation meeting to set its fall schedule. Meeting Aug. 2 with only two members present, the panel unanimously approved its May 1 minutes — with the newly seated member voting yes "for administrative purposes" — and agreed to propose twice-monthly Tuesday or Wednesday meetings at 9 a.m. starting the week of Sept. 11. The chair walked the new member through the fiscal 2024 cycle, in which former Superintendent Omar Easy's $2.8 million recommended increase was pared after the town and Finance Committee sought reductions, landing at a stated 3.5 percent increase but a 5.8 percent rise once roughly $1 million in utilities shifted to the town budget was added back. Members flagged the long-pending elementary space study, MSBA Statements of Interest, and possible changes to the district's financial aid form as priorities. The high school was reimbursed at 35.42 percent under MSBA, the chair noted.