|
<!–
Superintendent’s Bulletin
|
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to April and happy Friday! This week is an important one to our faith communities with observances for Passover, Good Friday, and Easter. Wellesley’s annual Town Meeting also kicked off this week with sessions on both Monday and Tuesday evenings. I’m pleased to report that our FY’27 WPS Budget passed by a vote of 184-10 during the second night of town meeting. In addition to our FY’27 budget, this year we also produced a longitudinal study of district costs over the past decade. This was driven by the question often posed around town: “Why do school budgets increase, even during times of declining student enrollment?” The resulting analysis showed that increases in non-discretionary spending, such as transportation, personnel costs, and mandated services such as special education, far exceed any savings from declining enrollment.
Thank you to everyone who supported the development of our budget for next year. In particular, I want to give thanks to Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations, Cindy Mahr, for her exceptional work on the FY’27 budget as well as the aforementioned longitudinal analysis. I share the bittersweet news that Cindy will be leaving us at the end of the school year to begin a new chapter in her professional life as the Chief Financial Officer of the Hopkinton Public Schools. Please join me in thanking Cindy for her eight years of service to WPS and wishing her well in this next leg of her professional journey.
I also want to congratulate WMS World Language teacher Rebecca Blouwolff and all of our WMS colleagues and parent volunteers who hosted the annual “French Fête” last week, which was a terrific celebration of French culture. (And my favorite, French line dancing!) Formidable!
Thanks for what you do each day in support of our students. Have a great weekend!
Best, David
|
April 3 – Good Friday (Schools Closed)
April 14 – School Committee Meeting
April 20-24 – April Break (Schools Closed)
May 5 – School Committee Meeting
|
Employees are encouraged to contact Human Resources for assistance before April 24th at 781-431-1019, ext. 2245 or email benefits@wellesleyma.gov. In addition to scheduling a time to come in and enroll online, employees may call or drop in during the following dates and times, on a first come first served basis:
Friday, April 3 1pm – 4pm
Wednesday, April 8 11am – 3pm
Monday, April 13 1pm – 4pm
Wednesday, April 22 1pm – 4pm
If you do not access the online enrollment tool to complete the enrollment process, all of your current benefits with the exception of your health savings account (HSA) and/or your flexible spending account(s) (FSA’s) , will roll into FY27.
Medicare eligibility could have an impact on your ability to contribute and/or participate in an HSA. IRS rules state that you cannot contribute to or receive contributions from your employer when enrolled in any part of Medicare and contributing to an HSA while on Medicare can have tax penalties. It is your responsibility to contact the HR department at benefits@wellesleyma.gov if you are enrolled in Medicare and are on a high deductible health plan. For more information on how Medicare Eligibility can impact your HSA, please refer to the Medicare Eligibility and Your HSA guide.
|
Graduate credit courses offered through the Albion Center at Idaho State University will no longer be accepted for credit by Wellesley Public Schools. This decision follows a recent message from the Massachusetts School Superintendents’ Association indicating that the program is under review due to concerns about the rigor of its coursework. While Idaho State University courses may still be applied toward professional development points (PDPs), they will no longer count as graduate-level credit within WPS for lane changes. Please reach out to Sandy Trach, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, with any questions.
|
Congratulations and best wishes to these amazing WPS teachers who will be running the Boston Marathon this month!
Have we missed any teachers or staff members? If so, please share with Allison DiRenzo at direnzoa@wellesleyps.org for inclusion in a future Bulletin
|
As we look toward the next school year, the district will be transitioning from Zoom to Google Meet as our primary video conferencing platform for general staff use. This shift, which will take effect this summer, allows us to be more fiscally responsible by fully utilizing our Google Education Plus license. In addition, Google Meet now offers several helpful new features, including Adaptive Audio, which eliminates echo when multiple staff members join a meeting from the same room, live translated captions in over 65 languages, and a picture-in-picture mode that allows the user to view the Meet and relevant documents at the same time.
This change won’t happen until this summer, which will give everyone the remainder of the school year to explore the platform and receive assistance from the Tech Dept. Please visit the Tech Dept. contact page to submit a Help Desk ticket or to find a member of the department assigned to your building.
|
In August 2026, there will be a three-week gap between pay periods. This occurs periodically due to how the school and payroll calendars align.
To help ensure a smooth transition through this period, we are sharing this notice well in advance so that all employees can plan accordingly. Staff may wish to set aside funds during the year to help cover personal expenses during this short gap.
Below is a summary of the upcoming schedule for the 2025–2026 school year:
- Final paycheck for the 21-pay staff: June 8, 2026
- Final paycheck for the 26-pay staff: August 17, 2026
- First paycheck after summer gap: September 8, 2026
No paychecks will be issued between August 17 and September 8, 2026.
If you have any questions about your individual pay schedule, please contact the Payroll Office for assistance.
|
The MTRS has many members who do not have a beneficiary on file. This Spring, these members will receive either an email or a mailed letter (if no email address on file) asking them to designate a beneficiary.
|
Children of Unit A and B members residing outside of Wellesley shall be entitled to attend Wellesley Public Schools without charge for tuition on a space available basis (Article 14 WEA Unit A, Article 13 WEA Unit B).
Below is the timeline for submitting applications:
May 1: All applications are due to the District Registrar, late applications will not be accepted.
The district will review all applications in May and school placement decisions will be made in June. Placement decisions are made based on available space and staff will be notified of their school when decisions have been made. Once notified of a determination, applicants will be provided with access to the online registration forms. Registration of students is not completed until all forms have been received and approved by the District Registrar and Nurse.
A survey will be sent out in mid-March to confirm currently enrolled faculty children will be returning in school year 2026-27.
|
Key Details:
Preparation courses to review core material covered in the designated MTEL
Asynchronous and Hybrid options
1 undergraduate credit per course for $297
Courses & Dates:
- ED 107 Communication and Literacy: Writing, 5/11/2026-5/24/26 (asynchronous)
- ED 113 General Curriculum STEM, 5/11/26-5/31/26 (Hybrid, Remote meetings Mondays 4-6pm)
- ED 108 Communication and Literacy: Reading, 6/8/26-6/20/26 (asynchronous)
- ED 110 Foundations of Reading, 5/25/26- 6/7/26 (Hybrid, Remote meeting Monday 6/1/26 4-6pm)
- ED 111 General Curriculum Humanities, 6/1/26-6/20/26 (asynchronous)
|
The Town of Wellesley offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to support employees and their families. Effective July 1, 2025, CMG Associates is the new EAP provider (see announcement). Employees may want to access the EAP because of emotional difficulties, life stress, family difficulties, concerns about substance abuse or other addictive behavior, legal or financial problems, or other personal issues. The EAP is completely free, confidential, and available at all times (day or night, weekdays, weekends, and holidays). Employees may call CMG Associates at 888-851-7032, or they may visit www.cmgassociates.com, click on the link entitled EAP Log-In, and use the User ID: WELL.
|
- 2026 Annual Contribution Limit: $24,500
- 2026 Additional Catch Up Limit: $8,000
- 2026 Total Contribution Limit: $31,000
- 2026 Annual Contribution Limit: $24,500
- 2026 Additional Catch Up Limit: $8,000
- 2026 Total Contribution Limit: $32,500
May make changes throughout the year through the company.
Work directly through US Omni and the SMART Plan.
|
|
|
|
|