Winchester School Committee Unanimously Eliminates Athletic Fee Family Cap for FY27

WINCHESTER — April 16, 2026 — Winchester School Committee votes to eliminate athletic fee family cap and sets literacy funding at $598,540. Meeting Chair Tim Matthews opened the April 16 session after a joint tri-board meeting, immediately approving the $598,540 literacy curriculum appropriation — the remaining funding need after existing pilot funds are spent down — on a unanimous vote. The committee also voted unanimously to remove the cap on how much a family pays for athletic fees regardless of how many children or sports are involved, raising the per-sport base fee from $400 to a range of $550 to $600, with facility surcharges still under review, in an effort to close a $246,000 athletics deficit not covered by the proposed 5 percent budget. Superintendent Jane Hackett told a packed public forum that the MSBA's 270-day feasibility window for Morocco Elementary School does not shift based on whether town meeting votes in spring or fall, but cautioned that the district needs time to develop "a quality educational plan" before entering the building-design phase. A coalition organizer told the committee his group had already secured commitments from roughly 70 of the town's 192 town meeting members to support the school budget, the literacy article, and the Morocco feasibility study.