Shrewsbury School Committee elects new officers, receives $24.7 million spending gap data

SHREWSBURY — May 13, 2026 — Shrewsbury School Committee reorganizes and hears district spends $24.7 million less annually than the state per-pupil average. At the committee's first post-election meeting Tuesday, members unanimously elected Rachel Sharifapour as chair, Rajesh Valgapoudi as vice chair, and John Wenske as secretary, and welcomed newly elected member Nicole Torres. Superintendent Joseph Sawyer presented a per-pupil expenditure report — authored by Assistant Superintendent Brian Girardi — showing that in fiscal year 2024 Shrewsbury spent just over $19,000 per student, placing it in the bottom 15th percentile statewide and roughly $4,119, or 18 percent, below the state average; to reach the state average would have required an additional $24.7 million. The committee noted that Shrewsbury's state-assigned comparable districts now include Newton and Lexington, communities with substantially higher tax bills. The committee also recognized 10 senior scholars heading to institutions including Yale, Purdue, Swarthmore, and the University of Michigan, received the Student Advisory Council's final report of the year, and voted 5-0 to enter executive session on collective bargaining and student records matters.