Norwood School Committee approves improvement plans and routine items; appoints legal counsel

The Norwood School Committee held several formal votes during its Sept. 10 meeting at the Savage Educational Center, approving school improvement plans, policy updates and capital spending for the coming year, and appointing outside legal counsel.

School improvement plans approved: After presentations by elementary, middle and high school principals, the committee voted to approve the Norwood Public Schools 2025–26 school improvement plans. The motion to approve was made from the floor and seconded; the committee recorded the vote as 5–0 in favor.

Appointment of legal counsel: The committee considered Superintendent David Leff’s recommendation following interviews of six firms and recommended Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane with partner Andy Wall serving as lead counsel. The committee voted to appoint Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane as district legal counsel. The recorded vote on that appointment was 4–0 with one abstention.

Capital plan approval (one‑year): The committee discussed the five‑year capital plan prepared by the capital outlay committee and accepted a friendly amendment to limit the committee’s immediate approval to the one‑year, FY26 items (which included a Willett school roof priority and other near‑term work). The amended motion to approve the one‑year plan passed 5–0.

Policy updates: The committee approved minor edits to policy sections A and B (including neutralized pronouns and removal of administrative ‘‘notes’’) and a revision to the school council policy to allow an option for meetings within the first 40 calendar days plus additional meetings as needed. The policy package passed on a 5–0 vote.

Consent and minutes: The committee approved routine consent items including donations from Baystate Textiles, the Freemasons, and Vertex, and accepted multiple minutes and routine appointments. The packet’s first consent block passed 5–0. The July 30 workshop and executive session minutes were approved with a 4–0 vote and one abstention noted for a member who was not present at that meeting. Separate action approved the committee’s stated goals and norms with edits discussed at the meeting, 5–0.

Votes listed below are recorded as provided on the meeting transcript; the committee did not adopt additional financial reductions or preliminary budget lines at this meeting. Several agenda items were informational and produced no vote.

Votes at a glance: - Approve Norwood Public Schools 2025–26 school improvement plans — Outcome: approved; tally: 5 yes, 0 no (motion: approve the 25–26 Norwood Public Schools school improvement plan; mover: Joan; second: Ann Marie). - Appoint Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane as district legal counsel with Andy Wall as lead counsel — Outcome: approved; tally: 4 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain (motion: appoint Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane as Norwood Public Schools legal counsel; mover: committee member (recorded on floor); second: committee member (recorded on floor)). - Approve one‑year capital plan (FY26 items, friendly amendment to 5‑year plan) — Outcome: approved; tally: 5 yes, 0 no (motion: approve capital outlay for one year as amended; mover: committee member; second: Joan). - Approve policy updates for Sections A and B (including school council adjustments) — Outcome: approved; tally: 5 yes, 0 no (motion: approve policy modifications for sections A and B as described in the superintendent’s memo; mover: committee member; second: committee member). - Consent agenda items (donations, appointments, June 4 minutes, other routine items) — Outcome: approved; tally: first block 5–0; July 30 minutes 4–0 with one abstention; goals and norms 5–0.

Committee members and staff discussed budget planning, open meeting law concerns about a proposed townwide advisory on budget deficit topics, and plans for further public and internal advisory work; no formal votes were taken on those procedural topics at this meeting.