School committee approves one‑year lease for Momentum ABA clinic at Davisville Academy after members add conditions and require follow‑ups

The School Committee on Sept. 9 approved a one‑year lease allowing Momentum, a private applied behavior analysis (ABA) provider, to rent space at Davisville Academy and the Early Learning Center. The vote was 4‑1 after committee members secured additional clarifications and directed staff to produce operational directives.

Under the approved agreement, Momentum will occupy a designated suite in Davisville Academy; the lease includes provisions requiring Momentum to have its own liability and cyber insurance, adhere to school access and visitor escort rules, and limit clinic operations to hours that coordinate with school custodial availability. The committee added edits during the meeting clarifying termination rights and required background checks for Momentum staff.

Committee members raised multiple operational questions during the hearing: whether Momentum staff or clients would use the district’s Internet (the trust required higher cyber‑insurance levels for that option), how parking would be managed, whether Momentum could provide year‑round services, who would supervise Momentum visitors during school hours, and whether the district or parent community should be notified in advance of clinic operations. Director of Student Services Rachel Santo described Momentum as an independent clinic that rents space and does not replace district services; she said district staff will not provide ABA clinical services and that the district’s obligation is to ensure contractual safeguards and student confidentiality forms are in place.

The lease’s monthly base rent is $400; committee members questioned whether that figure fairly reflects use of space and utilities for a for‑profit clinic and asked administration to monitor actual utility and custodial costs and to consider adjusting terms in year two if costs exceed projections. The committee directed administration to publish a parent notification about the clinic and to prepare a short list of operational directives — entry procedures, escorting visitors during school hours, playground use rules, parking assignments, and evidence of insurance and staff background checks — before Momentum begins seeing any clients at the site.

Motion: Approve one‑year lease with amendments (mover: Jennifer Lima; second: Sherry Kennedy). Vote: 4 in favor, 1 opposed. The superintendent and district staff will finalize the redlined lease and confirm a schedule for parent notification and an administrative directive packet.