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Westfield-Washington Schools trustees approve procurement software subscription, chiller replacement and revised care fees
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Summary
At its April 21 meeting the board approved a two-year subscription to the Spinbridge procurement platform, accepted a $287,450 bid to replace a critical high-school chiller, approved revised before-and-after care fees for 2026–27, and ratified consent items that included personnel and a $25,000 city grant.
The Westfield-Washington Schools Board of School Trustees on April 21 approved a suite of administrative and facilities actions including a procurement software subscription and a chiller replacement project.
Dr. Hunt presented the administration’s recommendation to subscribe to Spinbridge, a procurement and accounts-payable automation platform. He said the annual cost is $31,500 and the one-time setup fee is $12,500. He told the board the district’s conservative estimate of first-year savings from the platform is about $178,412. “The financial impact of this, the annual cost, is $31,500, per year,” Dr. Hunt said. After brief discussion about staff efficiency and future reporting, the board approved the subscription and authorized administration to execute the necessary documents.
The board also approved a facilities contract to replace a failing chiller at Westfield High School. As part of the district’s 10-year facilities plan, administrators said chiller 1 is at risk of failure and needs timely replacement to avoid loss of cooling during the warm season. In a letter dated March 18, 2026, the district’s reviewer Ari Dimon recommended Lehman’s Mechanical’s bid of $287,450. The board moved and voted to accept the bid and authorized the assistant superintendent of business and operations to execute the agreement upon legal review.
Other business approved under voice votes included the monthly consent agenda (minutes, vouchers, personnel, field trips, grants and routine renewals) and a personnel action naming Maggie Holtman as assistant director of the Early Learning Center. The board acknowledged a $25,000 grant from the city of Westfield to support substance-abuse early-intervention and prevention programming at the middle and high schools and a private donation of a refrigerator to Maple Glen Elementary.
Administrators also presented a proposed increase to the district’s before-and-after-care (BAC) fees for the 2026–27 school year, citing rising operational costs, staffing wages and the program’s self-sustaining model; the board approved the revised fee schedule.
No public comments on agenda items were submitted for the meeting. The board set its next regular meeting for May 12 at 6:30 p.m. and adjourned.
