WESTFORD — With increased class sizes and a reduction in course offerings, Westford Academy is slated to face the greatest impact from a slew of proposed budget cuts in the FY25 budget.
Impact to WA with an override
On Dec. 5, WestfordCAT reported that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Chew’s FY25 needs-based budget would increase by 7% over FY24, totaling $70.5 million. This needs-based budget assumes a Proposition 2 1/2 override is supported by voters at both the March 23 Annual Town Meeting and the May 7 ballot.
“One of the reasons we’re talking about an override is because we have concerns about FY26 and FY27 as well,” Chew told committee members during a Dec. 18 meeting.
The override asks voters to support $8 million in additional tax revenue for the town to continue to offer current service and staffing levels. However, this number could change as budget discussions continue.
In a scenario where a Proposition 2 1/2 override is supported, Westford Academy could see 2.2 full-time equivalent positions cut as a result of a projected reduction in enrollment. This would result in a reduction in:
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Three sections of English Language Arts.
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One section of History and Social Studies.
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Four sections of World Languages.
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Three sections of Visual and Performing Arts.
“One of the things with the languages, and even visual and performing arts is ideally a high school schedule is a student-driven schedule,” Chew said. “So, we know that there is room for consolidation in some of these sections.”
He added, “when we look at the numbers, we have a number of courses that are far from fully subscribed.”
However, the district will need to make additional reductions to remain within the 2.5% levy if an override is not supported. In this scenario, the needs-based budget would be cut by an additional $3.3 million, with the total FY25 budget at $67.2 million.
Impact to student life without an override
Under Proposition 2 1/2 constraints, the school will face additional reductions in sections, which could impact the “typical student experience.”
According to Westford Academy Principal Dan Twomey during a Dec. 18 presentation, this scenario could see sizes increase, impacting the ability of teachers to “build trusting adult relationships” with students.
“[It could] impact the ability to build as many trusting adult relationships with larger class sizes. The larger the class sizes, the harder that is in many scenarios,” he said.
Additionally, with the loss of staff, a number of co-curricular activities could be reduced or cut.
“When we lose that many FTE positions, there’s a real impact on co-curriculars,” he said.
According to Twomey, some staff members may also need to teach a subject outside of their area of expertise.
Seniors could also see changes to their postsecondary planning process with a reduction in one guidance counselor position. The school currently employs seven guidance counselors.
“With a higher caseload for all counselors, there would be a more limited personalization with interaction with families, parents and students,” he said.
Counselors could work with 12 or more additional seniors for college recommendations, as well as see an increase to caseloads by 30 or more students.
Twomey says the high school could eliminate some counseling programming, including Junior Job Shadow Day and Career Breakfast among others.
Library programming and operations could also see reductions.
Impact to courses without an override
In all sections, including Math, Computer Science, Science, English Language Arts, Visual and Performing Arts and Social Studies, class sizes could increase to over 25 students, up from a current cap of approximately 24 students per teacher.
“If we have to fit 26 or 27 desks in those rooms, it would change the layout of how the [English] department operates,” he said.
Additionally, several electives across each department, including the Mandarin program and several science electives, could be eliminated.
Some lab courses in the Science department “might be difficult to do,” according to Twomey.
“It might be difficult to do some of the labs we do in some of the smaller class sizes under 24 just based on lab safety protocols,” he said. “There’s a big impact of if you’re in a group of three or four verses in a group of five or six, [there’s an impact of] how much hands-on learning you’re doing.”
“We’d really just try to have the core graduation requirements,” he said.
For the English department, all electives could be eliminated, including the journalism program.
“It would certainly impact the Ghostwriter, as journalism is a class and that is where the Ghostwriter fundamentally derives from,” he said.
Advanced Placement and Honors sections could be reduced or eliminated in some courses.
Ensembles and other music-oriented programs could also be reduced.
“It does have a district-wide impact,” he said. “There’s a wide range of talent and people notice. Westford Academy’s music is well-known.”
Looking forward
On Jan. 2, the School Committee will continue discussions on the FY25 budget, followed by a joint meeting with the Select Board, Finance Committee and School Committee on Jan. 9. The committee is scheduled to vote on its budget on Jan. 16.
“Our inboxes have been relatively quiet, so I would encourage people to reach out to us to that we know where to dive into,” School Committee Chair Valery Young said.
The committee can be reached at school-committee@westfordma.gov.
