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Medford School Committee Approves District’s FY25 Spending Proposal for Question 7 & 8 Override Funds

Medford School Committee Approves District’s FY25 Spending Proposal for Question 7 & 8 Override Funds
Budget Website

MEDFORD - The Medford School Committee (MSC) unanimously approved the Medford Public School’s (MPS) proposal on the allocation of supplemental appropriation funding at the First Regular Meeting of the Medford School Committee held on Monday, January 13, 2025. 

The MSC voted 7-0 in favor of the district’s plan to use the $7 million in appropriated funds, which were part of the budget override vote passed by the Medford voters on November 5, 2024. The proposal adds teachers, literacy coaches, nurses, administrative assistants, an inclusion specialist, expanded programming and more to the FY25 MPS budget. 

“We are very excited that the School Committee accepted our proposal for how to implement this additional funding,” said MPS Budget Analyst Gerry McCue. “Student success, through their safety, academic achievement, and their social and emotional learning, has been the number one priority throughout this work. Thank you to the voters for approving this ballot measure so we can enhance the performance and progress of our schools.”

The $7 million is a combined figure of two ballot questions. Question 7 provides $3 million for the general operations of the Medford Public Schools including, but not limited to, funding the cost of teachers, literacy coaches, behavioral specialists, administrative assistance, nurses and regular facilities maintenance. Question 8 provides $4 million to fund the creation of a high school schedule that improves access to arts and vocational programming, expands classroom instructional opportunities, and for classroom teacher and paraprofessional compensation. The supplemental appropriation proposal was created after collaborative meetings with building principals, school department heads, district leadership, and Medford community members.

This money has been added to the FY25 MPS budget, and must be spent by the end of this fiscal year on June 30, 2025. The approved proposal outlines spending for the full $3 million under Question 7 and a portion of anticipated spending under Question 8. The MSC will hear proposals for the remaining funds made available via Question 8 in the coming months.

As part of Question 7, $1.75 million will be paid back to the city of Medford after it was advanced in June, 2024 to fund the FY25 budget and eliminate further budget cuts. This includes a refresh of 20% of all student Chromebooks and critical funding used to retain 14 full-time staff positions listed below.

  • 2 Elementary Teachers
  • 2 High School Teachers
  • 2 Literacy Coaches
  • 1 Nurse
  • 4 Curriculum Administrators
  • 3 Paraprofessional Behavior Specialists

Notable new positions and expenses that were approved by the MSC in the supplemental appropriation proposal include:

  • An Inclusion Specialist who will work in the Special Education department to identify and implement inclusion opportunities for students with disabilities
  • 1 Administrative Assistant
  • 1 Floating Nurse
  • 1 Assistant Director of Buildings and Grounds
  • 2 stipend positions to implement a Best Buddies program across MHS
  • 3 CTE positions at MVTHS
    • Automotive Teacher
    • Metal Fabrication Teacher
    • Culinary Teacher 
  • New and replacement instruments for the performing arts across MPS

The $7 million added to the FY25 budget is expected to be added to the fiscal MPS budget in the ensuing years, along with any additional funding approved by the City of Medford. 

The full approved proposal can be viewed HERE. The School Committee Meeting held on Monday, January 13, can be viewed in its entirety HERE

For further inquiries, please contact Medford Public Schools Director of Communications Will Pipicelli.

(E): wpipicelli@medford.k12.ma.us

(P): 781-393-0599