Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Choice topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Westwood School Committee votes to decline participation in interdistrict school‑choice program
Summary
By roll call the committee voted unanimously to decline participation in the Commonwealth’s interdistrict school choice program under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 76, §12B, citing reimbursement below per‑pupil costs and ongoing fiscal risk of retaining outside students through graduation.
The Westwood School Committee voted on May 8 to decline participation in the Massachusetts interdistrict school‑choice program for the coming year.
A motion presented to the committee cited Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 76, §12B and noted that the program’s maximum reimbursement rate is below Westwood’s per‑pupil expenditures; the motion said accepting choice students would obligate the district to educate those students through graduation even if local circumstances changed. Committee members expressed concern that attracting choice students could create an ongoing fiscal subsidy for each nonresident pupil.
The committee approved the motion to decline school choice by roll‑call vote. The roll call recorded in the meeting transcript shows yes votes from Maya, Dori, Joanna, Tony and the committee chair (all recorded as “yes” in sequence); the motion passed. The motion contained a proviso reserving the committee’s right to reconsider if neighboring districts accept choice in a way that materially affects Westwood’s fiduciary interests.
The formal reference during the meeting was to the education statute Mass. Gen. Laws ch.76 §12B, which governs interdistrict school choice. The committee did not open participation to incoming choice students for the upcoming year.
