Regarding comments by NTA President Mike Zilles about Mayor Fuller’s designation of federal pandemic funds for Newton Public Schools (NPS), I’d like to clarify the information. Mayor Fuller invested over $28 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and CARES funds, approximately 40% of the City’s total, in the…
Posts published in “Budgets”
On Tuesday, January 22, Newton Teachers Association President Mike Zilles sent Fig City News this response to the analysis that former Newton School Committee Chair Matt Hills had provided to Fig City News the previous day.
School Committee files Petition for Strike Investigation. Since the start of the new year, rumors regarding an imminent strike by Newton Public Schools (NPS) educators have gained traction, first on social media, then in the Charles River Regional Chamber of Commerce newsletter on January 12, and then over this past…
On Sunday, January 14, over forty Newton parents, teachers, and elected officials met at the Scandinavian Cultural Center for an informal discussion about school funding. Horace Mann parents Alli Franke, Dan Evans, and Matt Mazer organized the meeting just days earlier and publicized it with the assistance of the Newton…
Minnesota just chose a new state flag in an open competition. The current (and longest-tenured) version of the U.S. flag was designed by a high school student. Why does Newton need to pay consultants $25,000 to design a new seal? Lucia DolanNewton Centre
In an e-newsletter sent on Sunday December 17, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced that she had indicated commitment for “70% of $26 million” in property tax Overlay Surplus funds to supplement the existing Newton Public Schools (NPS) budget. Background: Since the March 2023 operating override vote was not approved and the…
After a lengthy debate, the City Council rejected Mayor Fuller’s proposal to establish an Operations Booster Stabilization Fund — a fund designed to help pay for a portion of the annual general fund appropriations for the City’s pension system. As the Mayor explained in August, the fund would hold $20,500,000…
The September 27 School Committee meeting began with several public commenters, including current students and Newton Public Schools (NPS) employees, advocating passionately for higher compensation for educators. One commenter, Jo-Louise Allen, whose LinkedIn profile states her profession as a Newton-focused special education services advocate, called for higher spending on student…
Newton’s Comptroller, Stephen Curley, has reported that on September 25 the Massachusetts Department of Revenue certified the amount of the City of Newton’s Free Cash — the amount of unrestricted funds available from operations in the previous year – to be $27,912,423. In late August, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller had announced that the…
The Mayor’s proposal to create an Operations Booster Stabilization Fund (OSBF) (see Fig City News article) is headed back to the Finance Committee. The Council began its discussion of the OBSF late on September 18, at approximately 10:25 PM — after the Council had received a presentation from the Mayor…
On September 18, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller presented the FY2025-FY2029 Five-Year Capital Improvement Project Plan. After providing a general overview, Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Yeo provided the Council with a presentation of the plan’s highlights. The plan includes: Mayor Fuller highlighted three issues that the City will face in the coming…
Rep. Jake Auchincloss has been traveling the Fourth Congressional District, connecting with constituents, giving high marks to the Biden Administration and low marks to the current House leadership. At the top of his list of Administration accomplishments, Rep. Auchincloss noted the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, of which…