Medfield School Committee Unanimously Adopts 3.64 Percent FY27 Budget

MEDFIELD -- April 9, 2026, Medfield School Committee unanimously adopts a 3.64 percent FY27 budget requiring a May 4 override to hold. The 5-0 vote Thursday locks in $609,000 in reductions from what Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Marsden originally recommended, including the elimination of elementary Mandarin instruction and reassignment of a Dale Street fourth-grade teacher to fill a Wheelock second-grade vacancy. If the Proposition 2½ operating override fails at Annual Town Meeting, Marsden warned the district would immediately need roughly $1.3 million in additional cuts, more than double Thursday's reductions, requiring an emergency committee meeting before May's regularly scheduled session. The committee also voted unanimously to support two capital warrant articles totaling $1.125 million: a $300,000 technology capital request and an $825,000 municipal buildings package covering HVAC, flooring, electrical, building envelope work, and a $250,000 Wheelock School paving project. K–12 World Languages Department Chair Ellen Toubman urged the committee during public comment to protect the elementary language program, warning that eliminating 3.4 full-time equivalent positions would "lower the ceiling for what our students can achieve for the rest of their lives." Warrant Committee member Edward Vozella, also during public comment, called the administration's budget work "creative and thoughtful" and pledged to help coordinate a public forum ahead of the override vote.