Grafton School Committee forms subcommittee to study new fees

School Committee · Meeting of April 28, 2026

Grafton School Committee forms subcommittee to study new activity and transportation fees. Superintendent Dr. Cummings outlined a fiscal 2027 reduction plan cutting the equivalent of 12.5 positions, including the high school's French program and half its middle school Spanish staff, with three elementary jobs saved through attrition.

Member Kristy Kielbasinski pushed back on tying coach stipend increases to new sports-fee revenue, noting "we wouldn't lower salaries" if funds ran short, since stipends are governed separately under the teachers' contract. Cummings also warned that "catastrophic failure and other health dangers are dangerously evident" on Grafton Middle School's roof, part of a $4.2 million to $5.2 million replacement headed to the May 19 town meeting as Article 28. Vice Chair Laura Often's motion to form the fee subcommittee, with Kielbasinski and Stella Varellas-Dikas serving, passed unanimously.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of April 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.