Schools

Preliminary School Budget Has Small Surplus, Includes A Few New Positions

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The Watertown Public Schools budget forecast for Fiscal Year 2025 would provide the district with a small surplus. The budget for the current school year is $57.58 million, and when adding the 3.5 percent increase budgeted by City Manager George Proakis (about $2 million) the budget for the 2024-25 school year will be $59.6 million, Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee last week. That would provide a surplus of $75,138. Most of the budget, about 85 percent, falls under personnel, said Lisa Gibbons, the district’s Director of Finance and Operations. Galdston said the figures are for a “level services budget.”

Government

Watertown City Council Hosting Remote-Only Meeting Tuesday

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The City Council will meet Tuesday night in a remote-only session. See more details below. The agenda includes a public hearing and vote on $10.3 million for the Arsenal Park Improvements Phase B project, and the City Council will hear requests for accepting gifts to be used as memorials in the City. The meeting will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. See the entire agenda here.

Around Town

State Looks to Fill Job Openings in Tricky Economy, Offering Programs for Career Changers & Immigrants in Shelters

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Lauren Jones, State Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, spoke at the Charles River Regional Chamber event at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Watertown on Feb. 6. (Courtesy of Charles River Chamber)

Massachusetts finds itself in an unusual job market in the post-Pandemic period. The state added more than 50,000 jobs from 2019 to 2023, but at during the same period the workforce declined by 113,000 people, creating a tight job market. Last week, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones spoke at an event hosted by the Charles River Regional Chamber at Watertown’s Hampton Inn & Suites.

Schools

School Committee Member Rachel Kay Hosting Office Hours

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School Committee member Rachel Kay

Watertown School Committee member Rachel Kay will host virtual office hours this week. Kay sent out the following announcement:

I will be available on zoom on Thursday February 15 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Click here at 7 p.m. on the 15th to log in. Please come with your questions and concerns, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Around Town

Changing Main Street: Post Office Closes (for Now), Restaurants Coming and Going

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Crown CafeDiners enjoy a meal at Crown Cafe on Main Street. The restaurant will soon close after getting a notice to vacate to make way for a new development on Main Street. Over the past couple of weeks, the section of Main Street near Watertown Square has gone through more changes than it has for many years, with the Post Office closing — at least temporarily — restaurants opening and closing, and a new development starting construction soon. On Jan. 26, the Main Street Post Office closed for at least two years.

Sports

Watertown High School Athletes Gearing Up for State Tourney, Some Along Side Belmont Players

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by Charlie BreitroseSenior Laura Biagiotti and the Raiders’ girls basketball team have had a successful season. Here she plays against Oakmont in the 2023 State Tournament. Watertown High School’s winter sports teams are all on track to make the State Tournament in 2024, and even one group that doesn’t have a team of its own will be playing in the post season. Girls Basketball

The Raiders girls basketball team, under first year head coach Michael Tempesta, has put together two four-game winning streaks on the way to a 10-4 record. Most recently Watertown defeated Stoneham 53-34 at Watertown Middle School (the Raiders home court during the construction of the new high school).