Westborough begins planning consultant study on elementary redistricting for 2026–27

Superintendent Allison told the School Committee the district has started planning a redistricting study to address shifting enrollment across the town’s three elementary schools and to provide options for more balanced building use in future years.

Allison said the district is seeing an overall enrollment decline but that Armstrong’s enrollment is holding steady while Hastings is down slightly and Fales (Fales School) is trending down. She noted the 2025–26 projected numbers shown at the meeting were “as of today” and could change before fall, and she expects figures typically increase before summer ends.

The district plans to hire a consultant with experience in school redistricting; Allison said the consultant work is expected to be comparatively low-cost, will account for trends and nearby development, and could include longer-term enrollment modeling depending on scope and price. The goal is to complete the study by the end of the summer and to bring options to the committee so redistricting—if any—is evaluated for implementation in the 2026–27 school year.

Allison said the internal project team will include herself, Anita, the student services director and the three principals; the committee was asked to consider sending a liaison to the internal group. Committee members emphasized that the process should be slow, careful and designed to minimize disruption to families; members noted the topic has been discussed over multiple years and is not new.

The committee discussed considerations such as siblings, traffic and bus impacts, neighborhood attachments, rental vs. permanent housing balance and ensuring comparable student experiences across schools. No decisions were made; Allison said the consultant will return with options that can inform budgeting and future committee decisions.