Woburn School Committee reviews redistricting scenarios as parents and students urge stability

The Woburn School Committee on April 8 reviewed two redistricting scenarios designed to ease overcrowding at several elementary schools and to make room for an expanding early childhood program (ECP). Committee members heard from the district’s consultant and administrators, asked clarifying questions about capacity and phasing, and then heard extended public comment from parents, students and staff before setting a schedule for further public input.

District leaders told the committee the redistricting process responds to sustained enrollment growth and program needs. “We’re out of space, specifically at the elementary level,” Dr. Crowley said, noting that enrollment rose about 8% last year and that the district now has 9 ECP classrooms at the Reeves and 4 at the Shamrock. The administration and consultant Priya Sankalia described an iterative process built on guiding principles—class-size equity, demographic equity, keeping programs in current buildings, neighborhood schools and minimizing disruption—and explained how they used 67 geographic “components” to build 32 scenarios that were scored against those principles.

The presentation highlighted two maps identified for further consideration (referred to in the meeting as scenario 3 and scenario 6). Both are phased plans that would move some students beginning in September 2025 and complete additional shifts in a later “end map.” Administration emphasized tradeoffs: both scenarios aim for better class-size equity, but each shifts pressure between different schools. Scenario 3 would relieve pressure at Hurl Wyman while keeping fewer students moving this September; scenario 6 would create more immediate relief at Reeves but would move a larger number of students this fall and increase enrollment at Malcolm White and Shamrock under its end map.

Administrators said the phased approach is intended to allow the district to keep specialized programs in current buildings while creating space for ECP classrooms. Assistant Superintendent Young and the consultant explained that capacity percentages in some slides are calculated two ways—by classroom count and by usable space—and that those figures can change when modular or program space is reallocated. They also said the advisory committee and working group that informed the maps included parents from each school, principals, transportation staff and district data staff.

Public commenters urged caution and called for clearer protections for students who would be moved. Several parents of Hurl Wyman students said they do not want their children reassigned; Michelle Delaney, who lives near the former Hurl Wyman site, told the committee, “Please don't consider scenario 3. H 9 in the Sheridan community deserves to stay at the Harold Wyman, our community school.” Parents and caregivers detailed concerns about repeated disruptions for children with anxiety or IEP-related services, with one parent saying she feared moving her child would mean losing “all of our IEP outpatient therapists and school counseling that he is currently having right now.” A fourth-grade student from Malcolm White, Vivian Nolan, told the committee rising fifth graders “should have a voice” and said moving for a single year would force students to “start fresh without knowing anybody.”

Speakers repeatedly requested a policy or clear timetable for rising fifth graders so families would know whether their children could remain in their current building for the last year of elementary school. Administrators said they will send a targeted survey to families of affected rising fifth graders (roughly 70–75 families identified in initial lists) to determine how many would elect to remain; they cautioned that any option to stay would likely require families to provide their own transportation.

Other public concerns included requests for more mental-health and transition supports in receiving schools, questions about transportation cost impacts of different maps, and repeated calls to consider modular classrooms or other short-term space solutions. Administrators said one of the maps reviewed earlier was rejected partly because it would have generated a large increase in students eligible for busing.

Next steps the administration outlined: an interactive “story map” for the public, a survey to be sent to affected families later in the week, a public forum in person April 28 at 6 p.m. (Woburn High School auditorium) and a remote forum April 29 at 6 p.m., followed by a school committee meeting on April 30. Committee members and administrators emphasized the phased maps are intended as interim steps while the district pursues longer-term capital solutions (including MSBA application work noted by several members).

The committee did not take a final vote on any map. Members said they would continue to review advisory committee feedback and public comment before deliberating at upcoming meetings.