Wayland school finance subcommittee revives push for August town-schools budget summit

WAYLAND — April 24, 2024 — Wayland school finance subcommittee revives a joint town-schools budget summit for late August. Meeting with Finance Committee representatives Pam and April Methot, the subcommittee set four tentative dates — Aug. 19, 21, 26 or 28 — for a two-hour evening session covering multi-year projections ahead of the FY26 cycle. Superintendent Susan said the practice is standard in "well managed" districts and that she has pushed for it since returning last August. The subcommittee also agreed to add a sentence to the FY25 school budget booklet noting "concern" about the budget's capacity to address unanticipated needs given a depleted circuit-breaker balance, and to include a teacher-salary comparison chart against peer districts. Susan called the town's five-year capital plan "etched in stone," saying a fall request to shift unspent tile funds to more urgent building needs was refused. Methot warned the town is heading toward "10 percent increases every single year." A goals meeting on long-range building planning was set for May 3.