Acton-Boxborough committee reviews draft districtwide financial assistance policy; vote targeted for May 22

The Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee held a first reading Thursday of a proposed districtwide financial assistance policy aimed at standardizing how the district evaluates requests for fee waivers and reduced costs for programs and services.

The draft policy, presented by policy subcommittee members, would automatically grant full assistance to families eligible for free and reduced-price lunch. It also sets a graduated reduction structure tied to the federal poverty guideline (for example, families at two to three times the poverty guideline would receive partial reductions), and centralizes administration of applications in the business office to promote consistency.

“We have been working for a bit of time on a financial assistance policy,” Liz said, explaining the goals of uniformity and prioritization. “Any family that is eligible for free and reduced lunch is immediately and automatically eligible for full assistance.”

Policy authors said procedures will accompany the policy to handle verification of income — including non-standard income such as gig work — and to ensure staff can work directly with families on appropriate documentation. The draft also preserves existing, more-limited eligibility for the self-funded extended day childcare program, which the presenters said has delivered about $200,000 in assistance to families under current practice.

Committee members focused questions on privacy and procedural clarity. Yan Chen asked whether families could safely apply without risking exposure of documents to outside agencies. Peter replied that the district centralizes records and that the district does not share student-family information with law enforcement or other agencies absent the family’s consent or a judicial warrant. Liz added that procedures and website communications would emphasize confidentiality and offer individual guidance on acceptable documentation.

Subcommittee members said their working timeline is to return a revised draft at the committee’s next regular meeting, targeted for May 22, so it can be voted in time to guide incoming kindergarten families and other early requests. The policy presenters asked committee members and the public to submit feedback to the policy subcommittee before their next meeting.

The committee did not take a vote on the policy at the meeting; presenters framed the session as a first read and asked for feedback on language and outreach before returning with a revised draft.