Financial Goals

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Killam is our oldest, non-renovated school and it is showing its age. Our students and staff deserve a learning and teaching environment that meets today's educational standards. They deserve a space without drinking water issues, weather infiltration issues, and sufficient space for pull-out learning. Furthermore, while the overall cost is projected to be about $130 million, Reading has the opportunity to secure approximately $42 million in funding from the state through the MSBA School Building project process. Thus, this may be the most critical project for Reading Public Schools in over 20 years.

With the Killam School Building Project and other large capital projects that may happen over the next few years, it is incumbent upon School and Town leadership to do what we can to delay an Operational Override for as long as possible. This may mean we need to sharpen our pencils over the next three to five years to save money, leverage other income streams, and utilize reserve funds to delay a further tax burden on Reading residents. I will commit to diligently participating in this process as I have for other complex financial challenges over the last six years.

In alignment with our prior goal and leveraging the strong relationships we have established, I would like to continue making progress in our union contracts through successful, transparent negotiations with the unions while keeping the overall tax levy as low as possible. This will not be easy, but I am confident that our talks throughout the 2023-2024 school year will set the foundation for those negotiations.