School Committee Approves New Communications Post 4-3

School Committee · Meeting of October 21, 2026

WALTHAM — The Waltham School Committee voted 4-3 to create a new strategy and communications lead position over Mayor McCarthy's objections. Superintendent Dr. Marissa Mendonza said the $140,000 to $160,000 role, funded from a repurposed vacancy, could start January 1. Member Liz Aljamal, who made the motion, called it "a position that we have needed for a long time." McCarthy, who ceded the chair to vote no, said the district should fix its finances first, citing an $850,000 fiscal year 2026 deficit: "the school committee needs to get its financial house in order." Earlier, Chris Scheifele told the committee the district's $3.3 million contract-reserve line was "zeroed out" to cover utility and busing overruns during a 479-day stretch without a settled union contract.

The committee separately voted 5-1 to end Assistant Superintendent Chad Mazza's contract October 31.

In the full story:

• Public Comment: Labor Contract Dispute and Budget Transparency Allegations
• Public Comment: High School Schedule Change Concerns
• Public Comment: School Safety After an Assault Incident
• Consent Agenda and Administrative Items
• Superintendent's Report Highlights
• Curriculum Update: Science Education
• Special Education: New IEP Management Software
• Human Resources Update
• School Site Councils: Building a Uniform Structure
• School Improvement Plans: Three Elementary and High School Presentations
• Unfinished Business: Schedule, Dual Language and Enrollment Items
• New Business: Strategy and Communications Lead Position
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,890 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of October 21, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.