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, demand and effects on future cohorts.

Kroll told the committee the district would receive $5,000 per incoming student from the sending district, and special-education costs remain the sender’s responsibility absent new evaluations. He emphasized the intent: “The purpose of school choice is to add students to seats that are already empty, not create additional classrooms.” He used an airplane analogy to describe adding riders to existing capacity rather than running an extra flight.

Administrators proposed specific limits at the high school and several elementary/middle schools. At the high school, the recommendation was to offer 25 school-choice seats to next year’s freshman class and 25 to next year’s sophomore class. For K–8 the presentation named four Holden-area schools and Thomas Prince in Princeton as candidates for some seats, with projected ranges (for middle grades) of roughly 0 to 18 additional seats distributed across grade levels (about six per grade at some schools), depending on staffing and final enrollment. Kroll repeatedly cautioned numbers were presented as ranges because projections remain fluid in March.

Committee members asked several operational questions. School committee member Jana asked whether the district would track cohorts that enter at middle grades and how that would affect high school projections; Kroll confirmed incoming eighth-graders would be counted when planning for subsequent high-school years. On timing, Kroll said DESE guidance requires the first lottery drawing to occur before July 15 if applicants exceed seats and allows a supplemental drawing before Nov. 15 for midyear placements; he said the district could maintain wait lists.

Members also asked whether seats would fill; Kroll said demand is uncertain and that prior practice varied by grade and year. Member Shannon asked how many applications the district already had; Kroll said he had no precise count and that historic demand varied by level and year. Member Malia and others raised concerns about how adding students might affect special-area scheduling (for example Spanish or art) and said principals would need to be engaged in class-size and staffing decisions.

Superintendent Dr. Riley and director Michelle Grise (business director) were acknowledged as part of the administration team that attended earlier advocacy at the state level; Dr. Riley emphasized the recommendation was presented to give the district time to put lottery and enrollment logistics in place if the committee decides to allow school choice.

The committee did not vote on school choice at the meeting. The chair said state law requires a public hearing before a final determination; the committee will schedule a public hearing and a vote at the next regular meeting.

Ending: The committee deferred final action so administration and building principals can refine seat counts, lottery timing and staffing implications over the spring and summer.