Town Government
Winthrop School Committee & Superintendent
The Superintendent
Lisa Howard
About 1,960 Winthrop students start their day in this district, and one person answers for all of it. Lisa Howard is the Superintendent of Winthrop Public Schools, a district of four schools that runs from the William P. Gorman/Fort Banks and Arthur T. Cummings elementary schools up through Winthrop Middle School and Winthrop High School. The Superintendent proposes the school budget, sets academic priorities, and hires the staff, but is herself hired by and reports to the School Committee. So the person who runs the district answers to a board your family helps elect.
| Role | Superintendent of Schools |
|---|---|
| District | Winthrop Public Schools (DESE code 03460000) |
| Website | winthrop.k12.ma.us |
The School Committee
Winthrop’s School Committee has seven members: six elected by the voters at the town election, plus the Town Council President, who serves by virtue of office. That overlap is deliberate, and it keeps the body that writes the town budget in the room where the school budget is shaped. The committee sets district policy, approves the school budget, and hires and evaluates the Superintendent who runs the schools day to day. Three of the elected seats were filled at the November 4, 2025 election. The committee meets in public, which means a Winthrop student who shows up can speak.
Layne Petrie
Gus Martucci
Jim Letterie
Zachary Purinton
Kaitlin Burroughs
Leslie Darcy
Shannon Kubik
The District at a Glance
- Enrollment: 1,960 students, PreK through 12 (2025-26).
- Schools: 4: two elementary schools, Winthrop Middle School, and Winthrop High School.
- Graduation rate: 91.2% for the four-year cohort of 2025.
- State data: DESE profile (code 03460000).
Meetings & Participation
- When: Monday evenings at 6:00 pm in the Harvey Hearing Room at Town Hall, 1 Metcalf Square, with the schedule and agendas posted on the district website at winthrop.k12.ma.us.
- Public comment: residents may address the committee with the chair’s permission. Check the agenda for the procedure.
- Watch: meetings are broadcast by WCAT, Winthrop’s community access station.
- Serve: the elected seats come up at the town election in November of odd-numbered years.
What this seat decides
Your schools
School Committee. Start times, the school calendar, bus routes and stops, the phone policy, athletics and activity fees, and the policies in the student handbook. It sets district policy, and the total size of the school budget is voted by the Town Council.
Your principal and your superintendent. The principal for how a school rule works day to day in your building. The superintendent for how the whole district runs. The School Committee selects the superintendent, and the superintendent appoints the principals, so a question about any other staff member goes to the district, not to the board.
Curious how a bill becomes law, or how students can take on a civics project?
MassCivics last checked this page on October 7, 2026.
Sources
- Schools and districts: Massachusetts DESE, Cohort 2025 Graduation Rates, as of June 2025.
- Schools and districts: Massachusetts DESE, district profile, Enrollment Data (2025-26), as of October 1, 2025.
- Town records: Town of Winthrop, Meeting Calendar, School Committee, Monday, October 19, 2026, as of October 2026.
- School district records: Winthrop Public Schools, District Administration, as of October 2026.
- School district records: Winthrop Public Schools, School Committee, as of October 2026.