Westwood committee directs superintendent to prepare MSBA statement of interest for Thurston after strong survey support
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Summary
After a district survey of 1,550 respondents showed 91% support for Thurston, the Westwood School Committee voted unanimously to direct the superintendent to draft an MSBA statement of interest naming Thurston as the district's priority school; the SOI will be developed for committee review in March and submitted in April 2026.
The Westwood School Committee on Dec. 10 voted unanimously to direct the superintendent to prepare a Massachusetts School Building Authority statement of interest (SOI) that identifies Thurston Middle School as the district’s priority for a potential building project.
Superintendent (name not specified) framed the step as an early, nonbinding action required to seek a partnership with the MSBA, saying, “The SOI just identifies the school selected by the district as its priority. It does not commit any funds.” The district must submit the SOI by April 2026 to meet the MSBA timeline.
The committee’s decision followed a brief presentation of a district survey conducted Dec. 2–8 that collected 1,550 responses. According to the superintendent, 1,411 respondents (91%) selected Thurston as the priority school; 89 respondents (5.7%) selected Sheehan and 50 (3.2%) were undecided. The superintendent said the district disaggregated responses by respondent role (students, parents/guardians, staff, town community members) and by school affiliation and found the strong preference for Thurston held across groups.
Committee members discussed concerns raised in open‑ended survey comments and public forums, including alleged misinformation about facilities and questions about alternative sites such as Pine Hill. One member reiterated that Pine Hill was designed as an elementary school with a capacity the superintendent described as about 550 students and therefore could not readily accommodate Thurston’s current enrollment (discussed as roughly 680 in committee remarks). Members also cautioned that MSBA conducts its own demographic study and that grade‑configuration decisions would be made later in the feasibility phase.
After discussion, a motion by a committee member directed the superintendent to draft the SOI for Thurston; the motion passed unanimously. The superintendent said the SOI will be drafted and returned to the committee for a formal vote in March before the district seeks MSBA approval and a December 2026 MSBA decision window.
What happens next: the superintendent’s office will prepare the narrative and supporting materials for the SOI, the committee will review and vote on the draft in March, and the district would submit to the MSBA in April 2026 if it proceeds.
