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Westford committee weighs opening school-choice slots to retain Chapter 70 funds
Summary
Administrators recommended opening 19 school-choice slots to preserve state Chapter 70 revenue tied to 10 graduating school-choice students; the net increase would be 9 additional slots, potentially bringing roughly $45,000 in base Chapter 70 aid if filled.
The Westford School Committee on March 17 considered a staff recommendation to open 19 school-choice slots for the upcoming school year to avoid losing state Chapter 70 revenue tied to 10 currently enrolled school-choice students who will graduate.
District staff explained the proposal holds the existing 10 slots and opens 19 overall, producing a net increase of nine new slots. "The base amount for each student is $5,000," Dr. Chu said when the committee discussed Chapter 70 funding; staff noted that special-education placements can increase the per-student payment in some cases.
Administrators described the approach as cautious: many of the identified openings are in grades where staff members' children already attend, which the district could absorb without significantly affecting class sizes. The district will run a public lottery—typically conducted in July—to assign new slots; staff warned that the lottery could return different results and that siblings or existing staff children are not guaranteed to win lottery seats.
Budget impact: staff estimated nine additional paying students could yield about $45,000 in base Chapter 70 revenue (9 x $5,000); the presentation said the district would risk losing about $50,000 in revenue if it did not open slots and the 10 graduating school-choice students were not replaced.
Parents and committee members asked about logistics: school assignments for newly admitted school-choice students are not fixed at lottery time and may be allocated to particular elementary schools later to balance enrollments. Staff described the district's longstanding practice of attempting to keep school-choice students with their cohort when possible but said adjustments may be necessary during placements.
The committee was informed that the lottery is run publicly and that specific posting and timeline details are published on the district website; the committee asked staff to return the matter for a vote at the next meeting.
Clarifying details taken from the discussion: base Chapter 70 per-student payment cited as $5,000; the recommendation identifies 19 slots with a net increase of 9; typical lottery timing occurs in July; staff-enrolled students can be absorbed to minimize class-size impacts.
