Stoughton redistricting committee approves timeline for new school, adds project website and names secretary

The Stoughton Public Schools redistricting committee on [date not specified in transcript] approved a multi‑phase timeline designed to guide boundary changes that will take effect when a new elementary school opens in September 2028. The committee also voted to add a dedicated redistricting website after the district selects a mapping vendor and appointed Katie Monahan, principal of Wilkins School, as the committee secretary.

Amy Quayley, the district’s ELL director who is chairing the redistricting committee, described the timeline as a phased effort that begins with vendor selection and planning in January–February, moves into data collection and preliminary analysis in the spring and through December, and includes public relations and community engagement leading into map development and committee recommendations in 2027. "We will reach out to other districts who've already gone through this, Plymouth and Norwood," Quayley said, describing plans to solicit bids from mapping companies and to generate enrollment and transportation projections to guide mapping.

Quayley said Phase 3 will focus on communication and public engagement, with a PR campaign launching in July–August and the committee aiming to hire an external PR consultant by January 2027 to prepare materials and public forums. She noted that the timeline can be amended and that the group may go into executive session if sensitive negotiations arise.

Committee members urged clearer, earlier notification for families who will be affected by boundary changes. One participant argued that notifying impacted families in January 2028—rather than late spring—would give households more time to plan; Quayley said vendor recommendations and peers’ practices will help shape the district’s communication plan. The committee approved a motion to add website creation to the timeline "after the vendor selection process," so maps, heat maps and project documents can be posted as scenarios are developed.

Members also discussed program placement and the need to monitor concentrations of special education and multilingual learners so that services remain equitable across buildings. Ed Clark, a committee participant, said the district expects "anywhere between 20 to 22% of the students" to be receiving services and that historical trends will be provided to the mapping company to inform projections.

The committee handled several procedural items during the short meeting: it approved minutes from the March 13, 2025 meeting, confirmed the amended timeline, set three future meeting dates (Feb. 12; April 9; June 11) at 6 p.m., and adjourned. Quayley said the district will circulate a Google Calendar invite and post updated committee membership publicly.

The next redistricting committee meeting is scheduled for Feb. 12; the committee expects vendor procurement and work on the community survey to follow early in the process.