Committee opens and closes FY27 budget hearing

School Committee · Meeting of February 12, 2026

Ipswich parents and the teachers union pushed back hard on proposed Winthrop Elementary School staffing cuts at a budget hearing. Speakers addressed the School Committee, chaired by Dianna Freehan, urging reversal of plans to cut a school counselor, a classroom teacher and part of a physical education position. IEA President Alicia Thomas said remaining staff "would not have the capacity to fill the void" left by eliminated positions.

Parent Jenna-Lise Rolf said a reduced counselor staff would push ratios to roughly 372 to 1. Parent Joe Hughes called the cuts "a leadership problem" and cited a roughly $216,000 reduction to Winthrop's budget, while parent Matt Bianchetto cited a $214,000 figure tied to rising athletic department costs. The committee took no vote on the budget itself.

In the full story:

• The Full Story
• Why It Matters
• Key Motions & Votes
• Source
• Ipswich's community access TV: School Committee meeting, February 12, 2026
• The complete report: 720 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of February 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.