Swampscott School Committee votes unanimously not to participate in school choice for 2025–26

The Swampscott School Committee voted unanimously to decline participation in Massachusetts’ inter-district school choice for the 2025–26 school year after a public hearing in which the superintendent and committee members cited capacity and budget uncertainty.

At the start of the hearing the committee read the legal notice and opened the floor for comments under Chapter 76, Section 12B of the Massachusetts General Laws. Superintendent Pam Angelakis said she continued to recommend against offering school choice for the coming year because the district has limited capacity at its three elementary schools and the district is focusing on growing its METCO (Boston) program. “I am not recommending school choice, and that's my recommendation to the school,” Angelakis said during the hearing.

Committee members raised budget and special-education funding concerns. One committee member asked, “Has the do we know, what is the, what does the state pay us for each incoming student?” The answer from staff was that the state base payment is approximately $5,000 per incoming student, with additional increments depending on services required.

After discussion the committee voted on a motion “not to adopt school choice for the 2526 school year.” The roll-call vote was unanimous: Amy — yes; Suzanne — yes; John — yes; Karen — yes; and the chair voted yes. The motion to decline participation in school choice passed unanimously.

Why it matters: Declining school choice maintains current enrollment priorities (including the METCO partnership) and avoids accepting out-of-district students whose special-education or other needs might impose unanticipated budget pressures.

The public hearing was then closed and the committee moved on to the next agenda item.