Waltham School Committee Votes to Seek $100,000 for Special Education Placement

WALTHAM -- May 20, 2026, Waltham School Committee unanimously approves $100,000 special education cost request and hears sweeping program updates. The board voted 7-0 Tuesday to seek City Council authorization for an additional $100,000 to cover a required out-of-district special education placement, the meeting's sole financial vote. Superintendent Dr. Christian Mendoza announced that Dr. William Conard has entered contract negotiations to become the next principal of Waltham High School, calling the community response to the search "overwhelmingly very positive." A needs assessment by Jessica Thompson of Stepping Stones Group found Waltham is roughly 10 percent below the state target for students educated in general education classrooms across seven specialized program sites, and the district will pilot a mid-tier ABA instructor model at Plimpton Elementary next year as a lower-cost alternative to expanding board-certified behavior analyst staffing. Districtwide attendance reached 94.2 percent as of March 2026, above the state average, with chronic absenteeism at Waltham High School dropping eight percentage points year over year.