Accountability posts

**Lexington School Committee Meeting Recap — March 10, 2026**

The most consequential decision of the night was a 4-0-1 vote to approve the bathroom configuration for the new Lexington High School: approximately 60% all-gender facilities, 40% single-gender (boys and girls). This is a permanent design in a building under active construction — meaning the window to change it is narrow or already closed. Nine community members spoke before the vote, representing genuinely different viewpoints. Supporters — including LGBTQ+ students, a non-binary teacher, and the Lexington teachers union president — cited 2024 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data showing 22.8% of trans and gender non-conforming students reported being bullied on school property. Critics, including a middle school student and former committee member Olga Guttag, raised questions about whether single-gender bathrooms would be accessible enough for students who need them, and whether the design is code-compliant and reversible. Those specific questions were not fully addressed on the record. One committee member abstained rather than vote yes.

On finances: the district's second-quarter FY26 report revealed that substitute teacher costs are projected to overspend by approximately $750,000 this year — a problem that was foreseeable, since sub costs doubled from FY24 to FY25 and the FY26 budget was never adjusted to account for it. Transportation, out-of-district tuitions, and athletics are also over budget. The board directed staff to begin providing monthly budget updates, but no corrective plan was announced. This is worth watching closely, especially as the district is also managing a large high school construction project.

Speaking of that project: resident Sudha Cheruku presented a citizen petition — Article 26, headed to town meeting — requesting the creation of an independent volunteer oversight committee composed of finance and construction professionals to monitor the building project. She cited $7.5 million already spent. The School Committee received the comment but took no position and gave no formal response. Town meeting voters will decide the fate of that petition without guidance from the school committee.

Other actions taken: the committee adopted Arts & Letters as the new K-5 literacy curriculum (early adopter phase this spring, full rollout fall 2026); codified existing high school graduation requirements as formal policy; and approved a revised high school science course sequence. A first reading of a policy update governing superintendent evaluations was completed — including an unresolved question about whether newly elected members should participate in evaluating the superintendent. That will come back for a vote at a future meeting. If you want to weigh in on any of these issues, the next meeting date will be posted on the Lexington Public Schools website. https://meetingwatch.org/ma/lexington/school-committee/2026-03-10/ #MeetingWatch #LexingtonMA