By Adam Swift
The school committee unanimously approved a new, three-year contract for Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dianne Kelly at last week’s meeting.
The contract runs from July 1 of this year through June 30 of 2028, according to Mayor Patrick Keefe.
“Obviously, Dr. Kelly has been an esteemed superintendent in our school district for a number of years, and an almost lifelong employee,” said Keefe.
Kelly will be finishing her 30th year in the Revere schools this year.
“More than likely, this will be her final contract to wrap up her exceptional career, and I know that that will be a tough challenge for us when she looks to potentially retire in just over three years,” said Keefe. “It was a lot like the rest of our negotiations, we looked at the longevity of her employment and the obligations that were in her prior contract, and we have to honor those obligations. The obligations will be honored in her current contract, as well as some factors when it comes to the COLAs (cost of living adjustments).”
The mayor said he believes the agreement is a fair contract that puts Kelly in the middle of the pack for pay when it comes to competing area superintendents.
“But in my opinion, she is the best superintendent in the region, so we are happy to extend the contract for three more years and have her continue to lead our school district,” Keefe said.
A good portion of the remainder of the meeting focused on discussions over potential cuts to the school transportation budget, and the school budget as a whole, as the school district continues its efforts to address budget deficits for Fiscal Year 2026.
Keefe has proposed eliminating the middle school lottery and cutting bus transportation so that the city provides only what is required by law.
Several school committee members and the superintendent have questioned the proposed cuts, noting that there is not a solid enough plan in place to make the changes prior to the next school year.
The committee agreed to hold a committee of the whole meeting to focus on addressing the transportation costs, which currently face a $1.9 million deficit, according to school committee member John Kingston.
Committee Vice Chair Jackie Monterroso said she understands the mayor and the city have to make tough choices on the budget, but she said she couldn’t support major changes to the transportation plan or ending the middle school lottery without a more detailed plan in place.
“I think we are starting the discussion too late and we need a clear plan before overriding policy and cutting bussing,” she said.
Keefe noted that the transportation costs, which are borne by the city and not part of net school spending, are rising much higher than the city can afford.
“One of the countermeasures is to eliminate the lottery,” said Keefe.
While the mayor said the middle school lottery was put in place with good intentions about two decades ago, it has now mostly outlived its usefulness.
Kelly said she believed it would be reckless to move forward with ending the school lottery immediately without discussions with parents, staff, and students.
“I encourage you to at least take a beat … doing this at the 11th hour does not solve problems, it creates problems,” said Kelly.
Kelley said the district finance director can look at some options for potentially trimming the transportation budget prior to the committee of the whole meeting. She noted that there are some high school students who live more than two miles from the high school and take the bus, and added that there could be a consideration of moving the transportation boundary for middle school students from one mile back to two miles.
In other business, several school nurses advocated for keeping the school health aides in the FY26 budget during the public speaking portion of the meeting.
As part of the overall potential school budget cuts, the school committee is also being asked to consider cutting the six health aides that were initially funded though pandemic relief funds.
Several nurses stated that the health aides are necessary to help address the numerous physical and mental health issues of the students in the schools, especially those that only have one nurse.
