Committee discusses NEK School Choice District and whether to reword education section of the town plan

Committee member (S1) reported that her father reviewed the education draft and noted that Kirby joined the NEK School Choice District "as of July 2018," and that the district comprises about 10 towns and roughly 300 students. S1 said Kirby represents about "0.5" of those students; members treated those figures as approximate and requested an official fact sheet from the school board.

The draft language attributing enrollment increases primarily to statewide preschool requirements prompted discussion. Committee member (S1) and others pushed back, saying the current increase is more likely linked to school choice and local decisions: "I don't think that's why we're seeing the increase anymore... So I just think if we're gonna... either eliminate it or change it to due to school choice," S1 said. The committee agreed to change the line to read: "In recent decades, Kirby's student enrollment numbers have continually risen, with some of the increase due to school choice." Members asked staff to seek updated numbers for population, tuition and total expenses (Exhibit 9) and noted the need to remain neutral in language where data are inconclusive.

The committee also discussed representation concerns if the district were consolidated into larger groupings, saying Kirby's small share of students could reduce the town's representation on a regional board. Members asked Tim Thompson and other long‑time local officials for help compiling reliable figures for the education exhibits.