As the school year settles into place, the familiar buzz in the halls, nightly homework assignments, and continuous schedule of tests and quizzes has made for a relatively familiar start. However, for some students, this hasn’t exactly been the case; the underlying impacts of last year’s budget cuts still hang in the air for them, especially when it comes to missing teachers and after-school activities.
Last year, a total of 12 WA staff members were cut following a $6.8 million town-wide deficit and failed proposition 2 ½ override. Three of the 12 staff were able to transfer over to Stony Brook and Blanchard Middle Schools, along with Abbot Elementary School, while others left Westford Public Schools completely. With 55 clubs at WA, including four new ones this year, it is no surprise that over half of these teachers also served as dedicated club advisers.
Some of the impacted groups include the Ceramics Club, Shakespeare Club, Asian Culture Club, Community Club, Troubadours, The Ghostwriter, and the Mock Trial team. These cuts also affected the Class of 2027 adviser position and girls’ swim team coach.
According to Dean Betsy Murphy, with the exception of the Ceramics Club, which no longer runs, it took about a month for the seven clubs affected by teacher cuts to be refilled. However, the challenges didn’t end there.
“The people who have taken over are loving the clubs. However, since it’s a tough year where most teachers are up a good number of kids in their caseload, if I have an adviser who is out sick, I don’t have a lot to pull from,” Murphy said. “[…] We are working [hard] to keep as much going and to continue to have quality events, but when we’re spreading ourselves so thin, how many things can we be here for?”
For Human Rights Club, this deficiency in available advisers has forced them to reconsider hosting their main event, Chaat Masala, in addition to the threat of being cut. Ultimately, German teacher Ashley Smith volunteered to help out for the first month, and Spanish teacher Kristin Morris has since taken on the role permanently, allowing the club to regain some stability. The Model UN team underwent a similar process with less success and now has parent adviser Chunzi Jin.
Even with new advisers able to step in, many students have found that the bonds formed with advisers over the years, along with their specialized guidance, are irreplaceable. According to senior Mock Trial captain Hailey Phan, this transition has been especially challenging for the Mock Trial team, an intensive commitment that is often compared to a sport by students.
Their adviser and former AP US History teacher Jonathan Meagher, who brought more than 20 years of coaching experience to WA and led them to their first Elite Eight championship in 13 years, is now teaching at Blackstone-Millville High School.
“I don’t think we should have lost him and it just took everyone by surprise,” Phan said. “He is so passionate about it and truly cares about every single person who’s on the team. He didn’t just focus on those who are performing well; he helped everyone improve.”
Last year, the team used to meet anywhere from 4 to 10 hours each week after school to prepare for their annual tournaments; now, they are limited to a weekly two hour in-person meeting. In addition, without the convenience of asking Meagher questions about their case-studies on a regular basis or receiving his feedback during these meetings, the cohesive nature of the team has taken a hit.
With much of their energy going into ensuring that they are still a viable club, Phan says the team’s usual expectations of success have dwindled as well.
Now, study skills teacher Jen Schelin oversees the weekly in-person meetings, while Meagher coaches longer virtual meetings once a week as an unofficial and unpaid adviser.
“Frankly, it’s not very lucrative to supervise a club in Westford, so it’s kind of hard to find people. […] But, I didn’t want to see the team just evaporate because there are students who have dedicated a lot. When it’s something that is really a passion of yours and that you love, there’s motivation to do it, and that’s what it has been for me,” Meagher said. “But, it’s a big challenge not being in the building and not being able to just pull somebody aside or [communicate] as easily.”
Because Meagher is in the process of creating a Mock Trial team at his new school, this hybrid-approach won’t always be a possibility for WA students, as he will not be allowed to coach two teams at once.
Another teacher loss that left an impact on students was that of former English teacher Meghan McCarthy, who is a founding adviser of Shakespeare club.
“[McCarthy] was totally part of the reason that the club became what it was: a safe space,” Shakespeare Club president Zoe Seiger said. “She has such boundless energy, and she is very unapologetically herself, so she fostered an environment that made a lot of kids, like me, come out of their shells and really be themselves, and we will really miss that.”
According to McCarthy, who transferred to Stony Brook Middle School, the transition has been particularly difficult when it comes to leaving behind such bonds—a sentiment reflected both by teachers and students around the school.
“The biggest challenge by far is losing the community I had been a part of for 17 years. All people thrive on their relationships with others, and teachers are no exception,” McCarthy said. “I feel like I’m missing out on seeing my students grow and of course I miss my teacher friends. Overall, starting over is just generally tiring.”
As Westford is looking at a possible additional $3.9 million in town-wide cuts for FY26, the impacts of the town budget will inevitably continue to make an appearance at WA. Nonetheless, Murphy hopes that, even with the mandatory cuts and future budget conversations, students will continue to be able to make the most of their experience.
“We’re trying to keep things regular. We don’t want to ‘just cancel the club because it is one of the fallouts. We’re going to keep trying, and I’ve asked all of us to cover anything that isn’t covered because it’s a big deal to have to miss even one sports practice or club,” Murphy said. “[…] We’re back in budget conversations again for next year, so this is a concern. But, I’m still going to want to run [clubs] as long as I have people to run them.”
