Shrewsbury School Committee approves minutes, hears literacy gains and FY27 budget details

SHREWSBURY — March 11, 2026 — Shrewsbury School Committee hears reading gains and $34,000 federal funding warning ahead of April budget vote. At the March 11 meeting, Assistant Superintendent Ms. Clowder presented benchmark data showing a district-wide decline in the share of students qualifying for reading intervention during the first full year of K-8 implementation of the EL Education curriculum, with Shrewsbury students scoring above the 69th percentile nationally on the STAR screener. The proposed FY27 Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment budget includes approximately $150,000 for literacy materials, roughly $140,000 in software contracts, $54,000 in new instructional materials district-wide, and a new middle school math specialist position that would bring the curriculum team to 27 staff. Superintendent Dr. Sawyer flagged a signal from DESE that the district should plan for a roughly 15 percent — or approximately $34,000 — reduction in Title I federal funds, roughly the cost of one literacy tutor, with a final budget recommendation expected in April. Six students from grades three through five capped the evening by demonstrating the district's "painted essay" writing framework with school committee members and principals as partners. The committee is scheduled to select a new superintendent at its March 18 meeting.