District overview
Newton Public Schools
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
A $314.6 million school system with shrinking enrollment, tight budgets, and new buildings opening
Newton Public Schools gets its operating money through the City budget, mostly from local property taxes plus Massachusetts Chapter 70 aid. The nine-member School Committee (one member elected citywide from each of the eight wards, plus the Mayor) sets policy, hires and evaluates the superintendent, and approves the school budget; the Mayor and City Council set the total appropriation and approve borrowing for buildings.
The FY27 school budget is $314.57 million
The committee approved it 9-0 in April 2026. It added about $1 million for middle-school math by cutting about 11 central-office jobs. FY26 then ended with $1.1 million less carryover money than this budget counted on.
Most money comes from local property taxes
Chapter 70 state aid is about $28.7 million, roughly 10% of the school budget. The Mayor and City Council set the total; the School Committee decides how to spend it.
Fewer students every year
Preliminary October 2026 enrollment is 11,052 in K-12, down 283. The 664 kindergartners are the smallest class since 1984.
Buildings are funded separately
Horace Mann reopened in September 2026; Countryside and Franklin open midyear. Ward and Underwood will get separate new buildings, which would likely need a voter-approved debt exclusion.
Capital money for buildings follows a separate path and cannot be used to fix yearly classroom budget gaps. Enrollment decline also means fewer students per dollar, so per-student figures rise even when budgets are tight.
Where the district stands
School Committee-approved operating budget; 5.7% above adjusted FY26.
Down 283 from last year and 166 below projection; this year's 664 kindergartners are the smallest class since 1984.
About 10% of the FY25 school budget; local property taxes are the main funding source.
As reported in the budget book's peer comparison section; not a school-level allocation.
Only $1,413,907 of the $2.5 million the FY27 budget assumed was carried forward.
Context calculation: $314,574,126 divided by 11,218 projected students; not a DESE audited per-pupil expenditure.
Major projects
New Countryside and Franklin elementary schools
construction finishing; midyear movesTwo replacement elementary schools are almost done: Countryside ($75.98 million, with state MSBA aid) and Franklin ($72.6 million). Students move in during the 2026-27 school year, then the old buildings come down and the sites are finished by fall 2027.
- Facilities update reports both projects on track
- Countryside students move in after winter break, January 2027 (planned)
- Franklin students move in after February break, about March 2027 (planned)
- Old buildings demolished and sites completed (planned, fall 2027)
Funding
City borrowing, with a Massachusetts School Building Authority grant for Countryside; Franklin is city-funded
Horace Mann addition and renovation
reopened September 2026The $34 million addition and renovation added six classrooms, a new cafeteria and library, and electric heating and cooling. Students returned from temporary space at 191 Pearl Street for the start of the 2026-27 school year, on time and on budget.
- School year began in temporary space at 191 Pearl Street
- Ribbon cutting at the renovated school
Funding
City capital funds, including alternate funding identified after the 2023 override defeat
Ward and Underwood school buildings
feasibility study; separate schoolsWard and Underwood are among Newton's oldest school buildings. After a year of debate about combining them, the committee voted 9-0 on June 15, 2026 to support separate new buildings for each school. The City set aside $1.25 million for a feasibility study. Separate buildings would cost about $9 million more than one combined school and would likely need a voter-approved debt exclusion.
- Committee voted 8-1 to prepare state aid applications with merging as an option
- Committee voted 9-0 to pause the state applications
- Committee voted 9-0 for separate replacement buildings
Funding
City free cash for the study; construction would need borrowing and likely a debt exclusion vote
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Prepared from School Committee minutes, meeting packets, budget documents and NewTV meeting recordings collected from the official School Committee meeting-materials archive (October 2025 to October 2026), plus the FY27 budget book.
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