Wachusett Regional School Committee weighs allowing school choice seats for FY26

At a regular meeting of the Wachusett Regional School Committee, district administrators presented a recommendation to allow school choice for fiscal year 2026 as a targeted strategy to fill existing empty seats and blunt ongoing enrollment declines.

Dr. John Kroll, who delivered the administration's report, said the recommendation is conservative and limited by grade and school: “The report is our recommendation based on the data that we looked at. And our recommendation is to allow school choice for FY26,” he said. Kroll said administration would control the number of seats offered, the schools affected and the grade levels, and that accepting school choice students does not count them toward the district’s foundation enrollment for state calculations.

The nut graf: District leaders argued school choice could make use of underfilled classrooms without creating new sections and provide modest revenue, while committee members pressed for details about logistics,…