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School‑choice briefing: 189 choice students in district; committee to set slot number ahead of budget hearing
Summary
Staff told the School Committee the district currently has 189 school‑choice students and outlined the process for opening slots and running lotteries; members discussed impacts on class size, athletics and privacy concerns about demographic breakdowns.
District staff gave a high‑level briefing on the school‑choice program, showing a long‑term trend of choice students and noting that Newburyport currently has 189 school‑choice students.
The presenter explained that the maroon line on the slide represents resident students and the gold line choice students: "That's the maroon line, which is students who are receiving… and the current number of 189 students," staff said. Staff also described where choice students come from (top sending towns include Amesbury, Georgetown and Haverhill) and explained that once a choice student enrolls in Newburyport they may remain through grade 12.
Committee members asked whether teacher family applicants receive preferential treatment; staff said teacher family applicants are treated as regular applicants and are part of the lottery process. Members asked about cohort effects — for example whether opening slots at a particular grade could eliminate an entire section later in middle or high school — and staff described how middle and high school scheduling (teams and sections) differs from elementary cohorting.
On resources, staff said choice students are treated the same as resident students and the district does not track expenditures at the individual‑student level, though principals and staff meet to consider school‑level capacity: "Once the student chooses into our district, they're treated the same as any other district in the district," the chair said during explanation.
There was also pushback on requests for demographic breakdowns of choice students. One committee member said asking for detailed demographics (race, language, income) was "offensive" and suggested privacy concerns; staff said they could explore what aggregated information can be provided without violating student privacy.
Next steps: staff will return with a recommendation on how many new choice slots to open; that recommendation will factor into the April 8 public budget hearing and the committee’s final budget decision.
