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TECCA superintendent urges state action to restore school‑meal access for virtual students as enrollment nears 3,000
Summary
Superintendent Patrick Lattuca told the TECCA board the district has 2,963 students with a 700‑student waitlist and is lobbying for HB700 to restore school‑meal access to Commonwealth virtual students; he also reported staffing gaps and a request to DESE to remotely proctor MCAS.
Dr. Patrick Lattuca, TECCA’s superintendent, told the board on Sept. 11 that TECCA’s enrollment stood at 2,963 students with a waitlist of about 700 and that the district budget was based on 2,950 students. He said the conversion rate of families choosing the school is roughly 50 percent.
Lattuca described staffing shortfalls: 20.5 of 30.5 budgeted positions have been filled, leaving about 10 open positions including two high‑school special‑education teachers, one ML teacher, one substantially separate teacher and a high‑school special‑education supervisor.
Lattuca spent part of the update on a food‑and‑nutrition initiative he has pursued for several years. He said he provided public testimony on HB700, “An Act to provide universal school meals to Commonwealth virtual schools,” and met with Sen. Edward Markey’s staff in Washington. According to Lattuca, the bill is scheduled for a vote within roughly 60 days of its hearing (with a possible 30‑day extension), and he said he will meet with Secretary Francisco M. Rollins and Food and Nutrition chief of staff Corley in Washington as part of the effort to restore meal access to virtual public‑school students.
Lattuca told the board that Commonwealth virtual students currently lose access to public‑school food support when enrolled in a virtual public school, and he framed HB700 as necessary to address that gap.
He also said the district has asked the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for permission to remotely proctor MCAS for TECCA and GCVS in 2025–26 (request referenced in the board packet), a move tied to the district’s device rollout and proctoring plans.
The superintendent summarized start‑of‑year staff events—two in‑person days at the DCU Center, a virtual training day, an in‑person student and family welcome at Lake Pearl, and a prep day—and reported favorable ratings (88.7 percent). He said the board will see his finalized 2025–26 goals again after he adds a requested graduation‑rate goal.
