Stoneham School Committee Reveals $4.77 Million Salary Offer, Rebuilt Salary Table

STONEHAM -- March 12, 2026, Stoneham School Committee reveals $4.77 million salary increase needed to bring teachers to mid-market pay. Superintendent Dr. Jamie DeFrancisco presented a 51-slide budget update March 12 showing the district rebuilt its entire teacher salary table from scratch to ensure Stoneham lands at the midpoint of 11 comparable districts, Bedford, Wakefield, Wilmington, Saugus, Tewksbury, Medford, North Reading, Lynnfield, Reading, and Melrose, at every step and lane. The average increase across the full table is 21.7 percent, with the highest single-cell increase at 29.6 percent. The total FY27 salary cost for teachers, ESPs, and secretaries under the current offer would be $30,223,281, a $4,771,952 jump over FY26, roughly $200,000 more than the $4.5 million figure cited during last fall's 9.3 percent tax override campaign. To fund the increase, the district reallocated $111,880 from professional development, $100,000 from curriculum, and $500,000 from utilities, the last made possible because the high school's solar array failed to go operational at the start of the year. A $237,012 cost for 11 ESP paid holidays remains unresolved, with the next bargaining session set for March 24 and no end time imposed.