North Middlesex committee votes to permanently close Ashby Elementary School

The North Middlesex Regional School District School Committee voted Jan. 29 to permanently close Ashby Elementary School after a prolonged public-comment period and extended budget discussion.

The decision followed testimony from residents, town officials and educators. Chuck Walkovich read a Jan. 22 letter from the Pepperell select board opposing reopening Ashby and warning that the town could not absorb the additional staffing, utilities and capital costs. A resident who identified herself as Kathy urged the committee to treat the three member towns equitably and to reconsider decisions that she said disadvantaged Ashby. Teachers and staff also submitted letters and in-person remarks. Kate Stepinski, president of the district Teachers Association and a special-education teacher, told the committee that class sizes across grade levels are "in the mid twenties and, in some cases, the low thirties," and urged the committee to prioritize adding…