Regular School Committee Meeting 10.27.26

The Peabody School Committee’s regular meeting, held October 28, 2026 (with warrants dated October 27), approved three warrants subject to audit: No. 6538 for $73,896.96, No. 6539 for $29,200.44, and No. 6537 for $1,878,916.82. The committee also voted to continue the current CTE admissions policy for another year; if applicants exceed available seats, the district would use an outside vendor to conduct a lottery. The FY27 federal grants had been approved, and the committee plans further review through its Finance Subcommittee. No new vendor contract or construction contract was awarded at this meeting.

For the high school building project, the School Building Committee voted to pursue construction management at risk, subject to City Council approval; the process will involve formal documentation and bidding requirements. The technology team reported a $26,000 Cyber Resilient Massachusetts grant for the first year of a planned three-year partnership with Cyber Trust Massachusetts, with future years projected to be budget-neutral. The district is also pursuing cybersecurity improvements, including mandatory staff multifactor authentication by December 31, Google Workspace and wireless-network audits, and replacement of several firewalls through a funding program. Amplified (owned by CDW) and Extreme Networks were identified in connection with audits; no related contract amounts were stated.