WESTFORD — Welcome to the Feb. 25 edition of Weekend Wrap-Up. Here, we highlight the most important news you may have missed this week in Westford.
WPD arrests two for unlawful possession of firearms
The Westford Police Department has arrested two individuals alleged to have unlawfully possessed firearms at Bell Westford on Saturday.
Police were dispatched at 12:51 a.m. on Feb. 24 to 1 Tech Valley Drive for the report of a disturbance of a group of males fighting on the complex, according to a press release from the department.
Officers later located a 19 year old male from Westford and 20 year old male from Fall River. Officers concluded that both did not have a license to carry and are alleged to have unlawfully possessed firearms.
Both were placed into custody and were charged with: carrying a loaded firearm without a license, unlawful possession of ammunition, disturbing the peace, and possession of liquor by an individual under 21 years of age.
The names of the parties involved were not released at the time of reporting. Both will be arraigned on all charges at Ayer District court on Monday.
“Both individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty by the court of law,” the department wrote.
The department added, “The Westford Police Department would like to commend all officers involved in this incident for their bravery and swift actions upon their response to this call. Their prompt response stopped a potential threat to the safety of others and subsequently confiscated two illegally possessed firearms.”
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School Committee approves contract with interventionists
The School Committee voted unanimously to approve a new contract with the Westford Education Association’s Unit G – which represents math and reading interventionists.
Contract approval
A memorandum of agreement was unanimously approved during a Feb. 12 meeting. Members Mingquan Zheng and Marisol Garcia were not present during the vote.
“We’re very happy. Every unit has a contract,” WEA president Kristine Jussaume told WestfordCAT.
This updated contract comes as a previous contract expired in 2020, which saw two one-year extensions. Despite waiting three years for a new contract, Jussaume says the administration was “very willing” to negotiate with the unit.
“We settled it in about five meetings. The contract settled very quickly, it just took a while to get to their turn,” she said.
The new contract includes new benefits, such as preparatory time, additional hours in the classroom and additional retirement payouts for accrued sick days.
“They got prep time, they did not have that before. Their longevity increased and if they have unused sick days and they’ve been in the district for 20 years, each sick day equated to $25,” she said.
Interventionist positions eliminated without override
Even with these new benefits, however, several interventionist positions are at risk of cuts as officials consider the FY25 budget and whether to support a Proposition 2 1/2 override.
With a needs-based budget, positions would be preserved at current service levels. However, the original request has been reduced by over $800,000 at the request of the Finance Committee and Select Board and could see additional reductions.
These additional reductions could cut all middle school interventionist positions.
If the town were to vote to remain within Proposition 2 1/2 constraints, interventionists at the elementary and middle school levels would be cut and replaced with an academic coach at each elementary school.
“One of the benefits, starting next year some of our Unit G members requested to work more hours with the students and we got that. If the override doesn’t go through, that may not be a possibility,” she said.
Additionally, Jussaume says that no override would be “catastrophic” for the town.
“I’ve been teaching in the district for 25 years and we’ve prided ourselves in having opportunities for our students that other districts don’t have. We’ve prided ourselves on smaller class sizes. Without the override, that’s going to go away, potentially,” she said.
She added, “I feel badly that this is going to impact our students.”
She emphasized that though voters will make the final decision on whether to support an override, the union and administration maintain a “strong relationship” and are united in preserving as many positions as possible.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Chew did not respond for comment at the time of reporting.
Columbus Day question returns to Town Meeting warrant
Voters will again decide what holiday should be celebrated in October at Annual Town Meeting.
A citizen’s petition was filed on Jan. 22 by resident Anthony DiLeo, who was previously involved in advocacy to preserve the Columbus Day holiday. The Select Board voted 3-2 to support the petition during a Feb. 13 meeting.
“We submitted this petition to bring together Westford residents over this holiday,” DiLeo told WestfordCAT in an email.
Article 22 on the Annual Town Meeting warrant calls for the Select Board to declare the second Monday in October as both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day and to supersede the previous declaration, which eliminated all local references to Columbus Day.
“In the spirit of inclusivity, we submitted this petition to recognize both throughout the town and schools on that day and hopefully unite the community,” he said.
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee says they plan to continue to offer their perspective to the Select Board regarding the holiday.
DEI Committee Chair Joe Diamond says the committee hopes that the Select Board will “honor the will of the voters” and continue to support Indigenous Peoples Day as the sole holiday on the second Monday of October.
The committee says it hopes the Select Board will “further recognize and endorse October as Italian American Heritage Month.”
How we got here
A citizen’s petition was originally filed in 2020 to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day as the second Monday in October. The motion failed for lack of majority at a 2020 Special Town Meeting, with the question later referred to the DEI Committee for further review.
A survey was later conducted in 2022 which found that a majority of respondents opposed renaming the holiday. The question, which was a non-binding resolution, appeared on a May 2023 ballot, which passed by a slim majority. A recount was later held which affirmed the results.
The Select Board later voted 4-1 to accept the recommendations of the non-binding resolution during a June 27, 2023 meeting, where board member John Cunningham cast the dissenting vote.
Annual Town Meeting will be held on March 23 at 9 a.m. at Westford Academy. The deadline to register to vote is March 13.
Westford Public Schools to observe Lunar New Year in new academic calendar
The 2024-2025 academic calendar was recently approved by the School Committee, with an additional holiday for students.
The School Committee unanimously voted to approve the calendar during a Jan. 29 meeting.
Students will return to the classroom on Aug. 28 and can expect to leave for summer on June 18, 2025.
A notable change includes the observance of Lunar New Year on Jan. 29, 2025.
Students can expect to be in the classroom for 180 days as usual. The calendar does not include provisional snow days, which could extend students’ time in the classroom in the event of a cancellation.
Additionally, the new calendar links to the Multicultural Calendar, a project by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee to track additional cultural and religious observances.
A full academic calendar can be found on the Westford Public Schools website.
