Stoneham School Committee Unanimously Endorses December 9 Override Amid Budget Crisis

STONEHAM — November 6, 2025 — Stoneham School Committee votes 5-0 to formally endorse the December 9 Proposition 2½ override. The unanimous roll-call vote — Corey, Megan, Melanie, Nicole, and Chair Jamie each voting yes — came after members described a district at a fiscal breaking point, with Corey calling a failed override "catastrophic" and Melanie saying cuts to music, world languages, and health education are no longer possibilities but certainties. The committee also appointed Diane, the district's new assistant superintendent for finance and operations, who confirmed the school budget is currently frozen pending her review, and who defined the core issue bluntly: "A level service budget does not mean level funded — it costs more to do exactly the same thing next year." Academic data presented by Dr. Costangue showed 45 percent of students meeting or exceeding in math and 47 percent in ELA on MCAS, with students with disabilities meeting or exceeding at just 13 percent in ELA and 15 percent in math, numbers she said "should create a sense of urgency." The committee authorized its chair and Member Melanie to revise a formal override endorsement statement for a virtual vote before its public release.