Stoneham School Committee Seeks $5.17 Million in June 14 Override Vote

STONEHAM -- May 8, 2025, Stoneham School Committee unanimously votes to seek $5.17 million in June 14 override. The committee voted 5-0 Thursday night to forward $5,172,056 to the Select Board as the school department's recommended share of a Proposition 2 1/2 override question scheduled for June 14, more than double the roughly $2.23 million the Select Board had publicly floated for the schools earlier in the week. Finance Director Leah Youngberg presented four salary-scenario options using the ARCS Ed regional benchmarking tool, showing that even the most aggressive scenario, a 10-10-8 percent raise over three years, would leave Stoneham teachers at or near the bottom of surrounding-district salary comparisons. The committee settled on a 5-5-5 percent scenario, noting that the town's $14.6 million override failed on April 1 and that a double-digit total was not viable. "In a five percent for one year we were literally the bottom of everybody on every level and every step," Youngberg said. When combined with a separate town-operations portion, the total override under the school committee's recommendation would reach approximately $8.04 million. The Select Board was set to meet at 8:30 a.m. Friday to set the final override amount; teacher contracts expire June 30.