At its March 5 session the Norwood School Committee approved several formal items for inclusion in the FY26 process and for referral to town meeting.

The committee approved the joint facilities budget for FY26, voted to fund two capital technology projects totaling $70,000, awarded a three‑year transportation contract to Michael J. Connolly & Sons, Inc., and voted to place four warrant articles before the town meeting, including a request to add $880,000 to the special education reserve and a $300,000 seed appropriation for MassHealth/Medicaid‑reimbursable positions.

Votes and key details (each item was moved and seconded as recorded in the meeting minutes):

- Joint facilities budget (FY26): committee approved the joint facilities budget that the administration presented; the committee recorded a vote in favor and the motion passed unanimously 5‑0. The administration’s packet listed the amount the committee advanced to the next stage as approximately $9,339,000 (final figure to be confirmed with town records). Paul Riccardi, facilities director, walked the committee through the large maintenance items and noted recent unanticipated equipment replacements.

- Technology capital request (FY26): the committee approved $70,000 in capital funding for two high school lab refreshes — $40,000 for the NHS television/media lab (21 iMacs running Adobe Creative Cloud) and $30,000 for the computer science lab refresh — and voted 5‑0 to forward the request to town meeting. Mr. Joe Kidd, the district’s technology representative, explained timing changes driven by E‑Rate funding and vendor quotes.

- Transportation contract (three-year award): the committee voted 5‑0 to award the regular school transportation contract to Michael J. Connolly & Sons, Inc., the incumbent. The bid produced a daily‑rate increase of roughly 12% over current pricing, lower than the 20% the district had budgeted; the administration said that favorable pricing gave the district room to consider adding a third bus for a growing route if registrations justify it.

- Warrant articles for Spring Town Meeting: the committee approved taking four warrant articles forward to the town — a request to fully fund the special education reserve (up to the statutory 2% cap) with a recommended $880,000 appropriation; a $300,000 appropriation from free cash to seed MassHealth/Medicaid‑reimbursable positions; authorization to sign a state MOU required to claim foster‑care transportation reimbursement (estimated modest revenue); and authorization to permit multi-year contracts for transportation and food services procurement. The motion to forward those articles passed 5‑0.

- Consent agenda and other housekeeping: the committee accepted a Baystate textile rebate of $863.10 and the routine monthly budget transfer report; those consent items were approved 5‑0.

Administration noted that several approvals will move to town‑level processes: the joint facilities figure must be coordinated with the board of selectmen and the finance commission, and the warrant articles will appear on the spring town meeting warrant. Multiple administrators cautioned that the district’s FY26 plan depends in part on free‑cash allocations and pending federal/state actions (notably MassHealth/Medicaid funding), which could require adjustments before the final budget vote.

Ending: With these votes the committee forwarded the bulk of its capital requests and warrant articles for town review; the public budget hearing is scheduled for March 19 and the committee’s final budget vote for March 26.