At the School Committee meeting on Monday, March 3, members unanimously passed the updated Transgender and Nonconforming Students Policy, discussed updates from the Districtwide Space Usage working group on the Robinson school’s feasibility study, and reviewed the proposed FY26 School Calendar and the impact of a citizen petition to change the day of Westford’s annual Town Election.
Transgender and Nonconforming Students Policy
The policy outlines the importance of having a safe and supportive learning environment for students whose rights are protected under the law. Among other ways to support students, the new policy lists proper terminology associated with gender identity, how to maintain privacy regarding a student’s transition and their identity status overall, and a student’s right to the use of their preferred name and pronoun. The updates in the policy were done to the language used.
After the policy went through several reviews within the school committee, as well as input from the community and legal experts, committee members voted to adopt an updated version of the Transgender and Nonconforming Students policy for Westford Public Schools.
“I know we have students, possibly staff, that this impacts. They are real people who are harmed by taking no action,” school committee member Tom Laflamme said. “The policy may not be perfect because we are humans, but it makes a statement that they matter to us in my mind, so I fully support it.”
District Masterplan
Superintendent Dr. Christopher Chew presented the update from the Space Usage Working Group, a group that has the goal of determining if all WPS buildings are being used efficiently and effectively, while also taking in concerns about building needs, such as space for special education programs. Chew, along with School Committee Chair Valerie Young and Facilities Director Jeff Goodwin, have toured all the buildings and are reviewing floor plans with school principals.
Concerns over space usage were raised during the town’s budget crisis last year, as enrollment was found to be decreasing. However, the question of whether the town was using spaces efficiently was raised. Additionally, there has not been a report done on Space Usage since 2014, which provided more inclination for an update.
Chew stated that another option being discussed to optimize space is the reconfiguration of grade levels at the elementary schools. The group asked the design firm SMMA to include possible reconfiguration into their facilities assessment.
“When I became superintendent, we started talking about reconfiguration,” Chew said. “That’s when we started saying, ‘Ok, we have heard significant feedback from teachers and from families about that transition between 2nd and 3rd grade and [whether it] is necessary. Not other districts do this, [so] we’re one of very few districts that have the model of Pre-k to 2 schools and 3 to 5 schools.’”
The working group determined that in PK-2 spaces, there is 91% usage of space, 78% usage in 3-5 schools, 97% usage in Blanchard Middle School, and 94% usage in both Stony Brook Middle School and Westford Academy.
Though enrollment has declined in WPS, the usage of space in schools has also changed over the past 10 years since the last report. This can be attributed to spaces required for counselors, interventionists, english language learners, and psychologists. Additionally, there has been an expansion of Special Ed programs and spaces for Student Centers at the middle schools to support students’ accommodation and engagement.
Additionally, at this year’s Annual Town Meeting, voters will decide on Article 7, which proposes the approval of the MSBA Robinson School Feasibility Study. If approved, the article would authorize $1.6 million of spending for a Feasibility Study and Schematic Report of the Robinson School. This is a requirement to enter the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process, which is a grant program. If the article fails, the town no longer stays in the program and would have to fund capital fixes independently.
However, this article would not authorize a future renovation project or increase taxes. The article has received unanimous support from the Finance Committee and Select Board.
The MSBA feasibility study assesses the need for a school building project, and is a required phase of the process. The study incorporates determining costs, evaluating existing conditions, as well as recommending cost effective and appropriate solutions. Because Robinson is a PreK-2 school, the MSBA would consider whether the new construction would leave the grade levels as is, or reconfigure to become a PreK-5 building.
A Comprehensive Facilities Assessment completed by the SMMA was done in early 2023 to identify faculty and educational needs for WPS and the report identified the Robinson School as having the most significant needs. This is due to, among many other poor conditions of the building, the “open concept” plan of the school, the building’s roof being in a failing condition, and areas lacking in handicapped accessibility.
The Robinson School Building Committee will be hosting informational sessions at the Cameron Senior Center on Tuesday, March 12 at 2:00 p.m. and at the Robinson School on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m., which will also be available on Zoom. This is intended to educate voters on the article, and tours of the building will also occur beforehand. Additionally, the committee has tours of the school available on Wednesday, March 12 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 15 from 10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
FY26 Calendar and Town Election Citizen Petition
Slight edits were made to the FY26 School Calendar, such as adding the new start and dismissal times for all the schools. Committee members unanimously approved the amended calendar.
School Committee Chair Valerie Young is the lead petitioner on an article that will be up at the annual Town Meeting to consider moving the town’s Election Day from a Tuesday to a Saturday. She states the petition came out of many discussions that had taken place within the School Committee.
Young referenced many other towns nearby, with similar amounts of voters, who are able to host a Town Election Day on a Saturday, such as Dedham, Easton, Bedford, and Arlington.
“I think because there’s such a high level of civic involvement for the town, it makes sense for [Town Meeting] to be over the weekend,” School Committee Secretary Jamie Oliver said. “It’s a more family friendly [and] community friendly day than a Tuesday.”
School Committee Vice-Chair Kathryn Clear raised issues of concern with having the election on a Saturday, such as whether there will be volunteers available to help with the polls and the feasibility of having police officers come in on a weekend.
The committee moved to wait until their next meeting on Monday, March 17 to take a position on the article, in order to make a more educated decision.
“If we don’t take a position tonight, I know I’ll be doing some homework [in] preparation for [our] next meeting,” committee member Bill McDonald said. “I would advise this committee to do the same as well.”
