Winchester School Committee Votes 5-0 to Decline Carriage House CPA Endorsement

WINCHESTER -- July 15, 2026, Winchester School Committee declines to back $200,000 carriage house CPA application. Voting 5-0 at its July 15 meeting, the committee directed Chair Dr. Matthews to send a letter to Save Our Carriage House declining to provide the care, control, and custody endorsement required for the Winchester Historical Society's WCCP application for Sanborn Carriage House roof restoration, providing feedback on the proposal, and committing to an inclusive process to develop a path forward for the building. Member Karen Mignarji, who also sits on the WCCP, noted that next year's capital queue already holds roughly $13 million in historic preservation projects eligible for CPA funds, while member John Belair cited three materially different versions of the proposal submitted in recent weeks and said he would need to see documented private fundraising progress before supporting public dollars. The committee in the same meeting unanimously approved a three-year contract hiring Dr. Heidi Paisner-Rothman, former principal of Wellington Elementary in Belmont and a 15-year Wayland Public Schools veteran, as the district's new Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education, and backed two separate WCCP applications for a Morocco walk-and-roll safety project and Lincoln School playground solar shades, both 5-0.