Westford held its 2025 Annual Town Meeting on Saturday, March 22 at Westford Academy, and voted on a total of 23 articles. The motions mirrored preceding years’ agendas, covering pedestrian safety, energy efficiency, and more. However, the root of many discussions centered around Westford’s allocation of funds. Of these articles, here are four of the biggest takeaways. 

Motion to install synthetic turf at Nutting Fields failed

The fourth motion of Article 5 proposed that the town appropriate $2,000,000 to fund the purchase and installation of synthetic turf at the Nutting Road Community Fields. This motion failed, 270-147, meaning no action will be taken towards the fields.

The motion’s cost accounted for buying the new turf as well as installing it at Nutting, while maintenance of the field is already worked into the current budget of the town. This recommendation was made in response to the safety concerns and old condition of the fields’ current turf.

According to Assistant Town Manager Mike Edwards, the town also investigated converting the fields to grass and found the project to be more expensive than the synthetic turf, at just over two million dollars. Edwards mentioned that natural grass fields will be more expensive long-term due to higher maintenance fees, and that a new and better turf will serve the town with revenue from renters such as Westford Youth Soccer.

At the meeting, numerous coaches and parents raised concerns about the safety of the current turf and its need for renewal. Many noted that an operating turf field was important because grass fields do not allow for year-round use. 

“As a coach in town and having children that play both lacrosse and soccer, I’m on that turf four days a week. It is in terrible shape, and it’s truly a risk for the children that we have out there,” Westford voter Eric Hakanson said. “You have kids playing all the way up through WA there, and you’re looking at ACL tears that could happen from being on that turf. It definitely needs to be replaced.”

Other voters made points to focus on fiscal conservatism, citing the Jack Walsh Fields as an alternative option and prioritizing other aspects of the town budget.

While no immediate action will be taken to alter Nutting Fields due to the failure of the motion, Edwards explained that in the case of a future emergency repair, the town will have no control over the timing of the replacement. This means the choice to replace the fields could result in a longer wait time for local sports teams and individuals. 

Approval of the MSBA Colonel John Robinson School Feasibility Study

A motion was passed 347-66 to allow the town to appropriate $1,600,000 to pay the cost of a feasibility study to replace or upgrade the Colonel John Robinson School located at 60 Concord Road under Article 7. The passage of the article means that Westford Public Schools (WPS) will be able to continue working with the Mass School Building Authority (MSBA), which will also be reimbursing the town for 48.05% of the cost.

While the study does not authorize or approve future renovations or construction projects, it will evaluate conditions of the building, explore outcomes, and determine costs to recommend the most cost-effective and educationally appropriate solution. 

The Robinson School, built in 1969, currently faces multiple infrastructure issues, including outdated electrical and plumbing systems, an aging HVAC system, and a failing roof. Additionally, the Robinson School Building Committee has concerns about the school’s ability to provide facilities and opportunities that are equal to the other K-5 schools. The school was originally built as an “open plan” school, yet currently, the classrooms no longer meet MSBA guidelines, as each room is more than 20% smaller than required. Rather than having each classroom in its own room, they are directly next to each other in each “pod”, with the only separation being furniture or dividers that don’t always reach above the teachers’ heads. 

While some voters were concerned about the need to spend 1.6 million dollars with lower elementary school enrollment rates, the motion reached a two-thirds majority vote with a general consensus that conducting the feasibility study would help reduce future costs and ensure opportunities for future grants.

New lighting fixtures approved for WA Trustee Field

Under Article 8 of the warrant, the Westford Community Preservation Committee recommended that the Town appropriate $2,047,346 to the Community Preservation Fund for various community-based projects. This motion is in accordance with the Community Preservation Act.

One of the seven projects proposed in the article would use $350,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance for the WA Trustee Field Lighting Improvement project, which would replace the current field lights with improved facilities. Though the specific proposal was moved to be voted on separately, it ultimately passed by a non-unanimous voice vote.

The new lighting aims to improve the quality of recreational and varsity activities on the field, as well as ease the management of the facilities. These fixtures will be 1200-watt LEDs with shielding, resulting in a significantly brighter and more direct light. Due to this improvement, light pollution will also be reduced. 

Additionally, installations will provide easier ground-control functionality for the WA athletic administration. While the field’s current lights have a “ramp-up time” that requires them to be turned on early to reach a certain brightness, the new system can be controlled via phone and instantly propels to full opacity. 

The funds will also be allocated to build new lighting fixtures by the school’s walkways and at the edges of its parking lot, aiming to increase overall safety.

Approval of the Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget

Article 10 was passed with a majority vote, approving an operating budget of $137,649,144 for the operation and maintenance of Town Departments for the 2026 Fiscal Year, lasting from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. After a brief presentation by Town Manager Kristen Las, the town operating budget was reviewed and approved section by section, including categories such as the General Government Budget, Public Safety Budget, and Education Budget.

A few notable budget increases included an 89.2% increase in the Human Resources Budget, a 51.5% increase in the Sealer Weights/Measures Budget, an 18.2% increase in the Animal Control Budget, and a 20.7% increase in the Nashoba Tech budget. While no budgets were reduced significantly, voters brought up reductions that they viewed as unnecessary or unreasonable, such as the 1.5% decrease in the Police Department budget due to lowered gasoline usage with new cruisers and a turnover in personal services.

One debated budget was the Education budget, specifically for Westford Public Schools (WPS). Topics of discussion included the impacts of inflation and President Donald Trump’s executive order to shut down the Department of Education on the Education Budget. WPS Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Chew and Superintendent of Nashoba Tech Denise Pigeon confirmed that approximately 1.2 million dollars of the WPS budget and $500,000 of the Nashoba Tech budget come from the federal government, though neither of them has been directly informed that there will be any changes at this time. Also during the Education Budget discussion, Norman E. Day School third grade teacher Megan Eckroth took to the microphone to remind the public about the continued implications of the failure of the Proposition 2½ override on WPS. 

“We’ve sat through all of the very difficult budget discussions to make [the WPS budget] work within a locally inadequate amount […], and then fast forward, and we sit in this room and […] it seems like everything’s fine, and people need to know that it is not fine,” Eckroth said. “I happen to work at a school in a position [where] third grade is being reduced, which means that next year, many of our students will be in classes with 25 to 26 peers. That doesn’t even include movements to Westford this summer, that has an enormous impact on student learning, and the reality is that we are simply not meeting the needs of so many of our students.”