Acton‑Boxborough educators and parents urge committee to preserve specialists and classroom assistants

Dozens of teachers and parents urged the Acton‑Boxborough Regional School Committee on Dec. 19 to preserve elementary specialists and classroom assistants as the district weighs recommendations from the Elementary Budget Task Force.

Madeline Cruz, a resident, told the committee she needs vouchers to pay for after‑school care and asked the district to "reconsider that because a lot of our families here in Acton are desperate" after she was informed the district no longer accepts vouchers.

Reading specialist Amanda Montero challenged the consultant's time‑use figures and said her own schedule shows she spends most available student minutes working directly with students: "If you include my lunch and prep ... that accounts for 86% of the school day," she said, adding that intervention time is highly constrained and cutting reading assistance would undermine services.

Multiple unified arts educators described the benefits of full‑time, single‑school positions. Lisonbee Simes, an art teacher at Merriam Elementary, said specialists see every student each week and that the district’s core values of "wellness, equity, and engagement" are rooted in the relationships those staff build.

Other speakers echoed that classroom assistants do essential daily work—covering recess and lunch, providing 1:1 support for students with complex needs, and enabling teachers to deliver Tier 1 instruction. "When making these cuts, please consider the direct impact on students before you make your decisions," said Margaret Ingham, a first‑grade teacher.

Several speakers also criticized the process by which recommendations appeared on the district website before affected staff were informed. Marley Castle, a music teacher at Miriam School, said it was "unprofessional" that employees were blindsided by online recommendations and called for better outreach to staff and department leaders.

The committee did not take immediate votes on staffing changes at the meeting. Superintendent Peter said administration will present a full budget on Jan. 30 and that the committee and community will continue deliberation; he thanked staff and community members who spoke and acknowledged the seriousness of the tradeoffs.

Next steps: the administration will present a proposed budget in late January and the committee will continue deliberations. Community members were encouraged to engage with finance committees and local boards as the district balances competing priorities.