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Parents, residents urge clearer plans and review after Steps program move and Ashby closure
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Summary
Residents and authors of public emails urged changes to the district's retirement-of-facilities policy and pressed for a plan after the district moved the Steps special‑education program from Pepperell to Townsend without detailed transition steps. A parent asked the committee for impact analyses, supports and a meeting with affected families.
Mark Gorham, a Pepperell resident with a second‑grade child in the Steps program, told the North Middlesex Regional School District school committee that parents were surprised and concerned when the administration announced in February that the district would move the Steps program from Pepperell to Townsend. "This decision was quietly made," Gorham said, asking what studies and impact analyses had been done, whether extra supports or a transition plan exist, and whether the district had considered academic and behavioral regression.
Committee staff read several written public comments into the record from residents including June McNeal and Tony Dimambro expressing strong concerns about the district's draft "retirement of facilities" policy (FCB) and the earlier closure of Ashby Elementary School. McNeal's email requested that any policy enabling a school closure require a two‑thirds committee approval and stricter safeguards so closures cannot be bypassed; Dimambro urged stronger procedures and better community outreach, saying the effects on small towns can be long‑lasting.
Superintendent Bridal Morgan told the committee she had notified the U.S. Attorney’s office that an OCR complaint regarding Ashby Elementary had been opened and later closed after the committee moved to close the building following a one‑year pause; she said a complainant would have to refile if they wanted the case reopened. Morgan also said administration would provide families with further information as it becomes available and welcomed a meeting with parents to restore confidence in student supports.
Committee members pressed for more detail about the Steps transition. Erin Upton and Shannon Cole later described special‑education programming and said 64 students in the Steps program would be affected by the move to Townsend; they outlined program locations, staffing challenges and measures to maintain inclusion opportunities. Several committee members asked administration to provide a written transition plan, a staffing and assignment list, and a clear timeline for family meetings before finalizing any facility moves.
The committee did not take a policy vote at this meeting but asked administration to return with more specifics on the Steps relocation, including planned supports and a schedule for parent outreach. Chair Martin also directed that written public comments remain in the public record and that administration follow up on questions that require answers.
