Teachers, parents press Lowell School Committee for action after years of broken lifts at Bartlett School

Erin Wilson, a second‑year teacher at the Bartlett School, told the School Committee on Oct. 1 that students have been repeatedly excluded from classrooms and activities because chairlifts and elevators remain inoperable: “Why is it that students are the ones who have to be flexible because of the lack of urgency from those in power?” she asked.

Amanda Satterfield, the Bartlett music teacher, said chronic lift failures have curtailed instruction and forced workarounds that undermine student learning; she called the situation “a violation of ADA,” and described occasions when wheelchair users were trapped and had to be rescued by firefighters.

Joanne Downing, a longtime resident and teacher at the Bartlett, said some repairs date back years and described daily safety risks when students must be wheeled through sloped parking lots to reach accessible entrances. Committee members said they were troubled by the anecdotes and by the timeline of promised repairs that did not materialize.

The school committee passed a motion requesting that the superintendent prepare a report explaining reasons for delays in repairing elevators and classroom lifts and proposing solutions. Miss Doherty made the motion; the clerk identified Erin Wilson as the person who seconded that administrative action on the floor.

In response, the superintendent said the committee would receive a written report clarifying which repairs are the responsibility of the school department and which fall to the city’s Department of Public Works (DPW). He told the committee that “major elevator repairs are not the school department’s responsibility… That is a DPW responsibility,” and explained that statewide contractor capacity is limited, saying there are “just 2 companies in the whole state who do the work,” which can delay scheduling and procurement.

Committee members asked the administration to include in the requested report a clear timeline for replacement or repair, the names of contractors or procurement constraints, and an explanation of city‑school roles so the committee can determine what it can influence immediately. One member said the administration had earlier noted new equipment was expected within “the next 3 to 4 weeks” (as of a Sept. 25 update), and asked the report to confirm whether that schedule was met.

The committee also requested that student notes and testimonials from the Bartlett be included in the packet for the next meeting so members can hear directly from affected students. The motion passed; the committee gave no additional timeline for when the requested report must be returned.