North Middlesex committee reopens Ashby configuration options as budget shortfall persists

The North Middlesex Regional School District School Committee on Jan. 16 reopened discussion of how to reconfigure elementary schools and transportation tiers after Superintendent Brad Morgan presented two new options intended to reduce costs while keeping an Ashby school open.

The committee heard public comment from Ashby residents who urged caution about longer bus rides and asked for clearer cost estimates, then discussed district proposals that would either (a) make Ashby a kindergarten-through-5 school with adjusted grade assignments across the district or (b) convert Ashby to an early-childhood/primary campus (K–1) while consolidating grades 2–4 and keeping Hawthorne Brook as the 5–8 campus.

Why it matters: the district faces a multi‑million‑dollar budget gap that administrators said will not be closed by building consolidations alone. Committee members and parents told the meeting they need both educationally equitable options and detailed financial and transportation analyses before asking voters to consider an override.

Superintendent Brad Morgan summarized the options and said the district prefers an approach that balances enrollment and class‑size equity while preserving building capacity. "If the option I just described was something that the committee can get behind, I would absolutely feel as though that that would be an option that would work very well for the students in North Middlesex," Morgan said.

Public comment and parent concerns

Patrick McPhee of Ashby told the committee he wants the district to consider renovating and keeping the Ashby building rather than closing it outright: "I don't have a problem paying another 500, $600 a year for the kids," McPhee said, arguing that past town decisions…