By NEIL ZOLOT
WAKEFIELD — In a 14-minute meeting on Tuesday, July 8, the School Committee approved new Fiscal 2026-28 contracts for the Administrators Association, cafeteria workers, clerical workers, custodians and traffic supervisors. The Administrators Association includes vice-principals, while traffic supervisors are commonly known as crossing guards.
“The teachers get all the publicity, but we have to settle contracts with these other units as well,” Chairman Kevin Fontanella said.
All the votes were unanimous 6-0 approvals, with member Peter Davis absent.
At their previous meeting, June 24, the members approved salary ranges for non-represented administrative staff, which includes Superintendent Doug Lyons, Business Manager Christine Bufagna and principals and authorized Lyons to “negotiate individual arrangements within the ranges.”
They also approved a Fiscal 2026-28 contract for Bufagna June 24. Lyons called her an integral part of our district leadership team.”
“We’re lucky to have you, Christine,” Davis added. “You’ve always been accessible to the Finance Subcommittee; we always get the information we need to make a decision.”
Fontanella agreed Bufagna “is great at answering questions.”
On June 24, the members also returned $221,957.35 to the Town for benefits for food service workers. “It helps the Town offset expenses,” Lyons explained.
In his yearly briefing for the School Committee, Food Services Director Dustin O’Brien said although half-a-million meals were served and money was saved in purchasing, there has been a dip in revenue, in part due to drops in federal and state reimbursements. He feels uncertainty in the amounts of grants will be a challenge in the upcoming years and thinks if subsidies for free meals are withdrawn, sales will drop. “We’re aware of programs being squeezed at the federal level,” he reported.
A ripple effect could be a decrease in the amount the School Department is able to return to the Town. “It’s not monthly,” he pointed out. “It’s something we have to anticipate.”
“We’re spending more than we’re taking in because the cost of benefits is not included in the meals,” Lyons added. “At some point, we won’t be able to maintain that.”
Facilities Director Tim O’Brien gave an update on construction of the new high School June 24. “Since the end of the school year we’ve seen a pretty drastic uptick in activity on the site,” he reported about the increase of workers from 50 to almost 200. “The biggest struggle is parking. We want to make sure we have proper signage and stickers for students so people are parking where they should be.”
He also reported exterior sheathing is nearing completion, roofing and concrete work is progressing, staircases have been installed and windows are being installed. “That’s when you really have a building,” he feels about the windows.
He further explained the roof is an energy efficient, environmentally friendly polyvinyl chloride membrane, which reflects heat rather than absorbing it to keep the building cooler in hot weather.
Updates are available at wakefieldmhsproject.com