WESTFORD — The future of Westford’s elementary schools, school districts, and evolving education programs was discussed during the Robinson School Building Committee’s (RBSC) seventh community forum on Wednesday, Oct. 14 in the Stony Brook Middle School’s auditorium.
RSBC was created almost two years ago to address Robinson Schools’ structural concerns. It is the oldest elementary school in Westford. It has since evolved to address multiple needs across multiple elementary schools, including whether to consolidate the current school districts.
Design & project updates
During the meeting, RSBC and the School Committee were still considering seven options. Representative of Lavallee Brensinger Architects, Jenni Katajamaki, presented the following updates.
Of the seven options, both committees were evaluating three elementary school enrollment scenarios:
- 470 students per school (PreK-2)
- 705 students per school (PreK-5)
- 1,065 students per school (PreK-5)
At the time of reporting, on Oct. 19, the School Committee voted unanimously to support a K-5 design of 705 students per school for the RSBC/Elementary Building Project.
“A choice of 470 would have only fixed Robinson and left major needs unaddressed, but by consolidating with Abbot, we can reduce the number of schools,” RSBC Chair Valery Young said in a Facebook post. “Educationally, a K-5 unified grade level will strengthen curriculum continuity, & build deeper relationships over six years. For families/students, a K-5 model reduces a transition from 2nd to 3rd & can help simplify family logistics…As we balance projections of increased enrollment and housing developments against the declining enrollment of today, the 705 consolidation gives us room if enrollment grows, or options if it doesn’t.”
In all three remaining designs Robinson closes. RSBC and now considers:
- Addition or renovation Abbot School
- New internal construction at Abbot (while maintaining the original structure)
- New school building construction at Farmer Way
RSBC and the School Committee will narrow the remaining options down to one by Nov. 24, which will then be presented at Town Meeting in Oct. 2027 with a ballot vote.
To align with sustainability values, RSBC and the School Committee is working with the Westford Climate Action and Clean Energy and Sustainability Committee to implement an HVAC System across all schools.
The School Committee also voted for a centralized preschool model earlier this month, as part of its ongoing school building project discussions. This means should a project begin, all Pre-K programming will be consolidated in one dedicated location.
“There’s a clear winner, which is a centralized Pre-K model that supports all of these goals the best,” Katajamaki said. “And that is the one the School Committee chose.”
Residents’ opinions
When the time came for questions, many attendees expressed concern about the lack of community participation for this project, despite continued outreach by the RSBC and School Committee.
“I’ve been to several of the meetings, and I would say at most we have about 35 here [today],” one resident said. “I’m really concerned, and I think all of this [information presented] at Town Meeting is a lot to look at … When people are presented with a big number, they’re going to say ‘whatever’ because they don’t have the knowledge of how this two years of work [by the RSBC and School Committee] has happened.”
Melissa Almeida built upon this point by speaking upon her own feelings as a resident constantly updating herself upon this process.
“I think maybe what happens is that it feels like a process is just happening … and there are a lot of professionals … I felt a little bit like I’m not sure what I have to offer to this conversation, because it is such a huge process,” Almeida said. “I say that because I respect so much of the professionalism that has gone into this process, and as a resident I trust they’re using a really good process.”
Almeida added, “But, I do see that we will hit road bumps, if all of a sudden people [at Town Meeting] are like … ‘woah, I didn’t know about any of that.’ The information’s out there, but I feel like everything being presented tonight still feels like a process marching on, and I’m not sure where to invest my energy or feedback because there are so many elements to this [process].”
The members of RSBC said that they share these concerns and are working to spread the word out in various other forms.
Westford Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Christopher Chew added that the process is moving so quickly because the the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has given RSBC a list of very specific deadlines to meet throughout this process.
“We can continue to invite people to our meetings, but I think your point is so well taken,” Chew said. “From my perspective, as a superintendent of schools who’s concerned about the school district, I’m like, we need to make sure that we’ve dotted all of our i’s and crossed our t’s … so we can give everybody that information … But I think you’re [Almeida] right. In the middle of that, how do you generate conversation so you can maintain [community] interest.”
RSBC Chair Valery Young said the committee is planning to speak with the Town Moderator and ask if a short presentation could be given at the Oct. 2027 Town Meeting before residents vote. Postcards with information were mailed out to residents this spring, and the committee is looking to repeat that process in the year leading up to the vote.
A new, virtual lunch work day forum has also been scheduled for Friday, Nov. 20 at 12 p.m. in an effort to give busy parents a chance to comment on and ask questions about the process. Register for the Zoom meeting here: https://tinyurl.com/Nov20RSBCreg
In addition to the information posted online, Young also posts updates to her Facebook page.
How did we get here?
Alongside Robinson, the Abbot, and Day schools are “aging buildings” that require “major capital repair.” Chew stated that these three schools have “inequitable learning environments” compared to their counterparts.
Robinson requires the greatest repair due to its outdated open-suite floor plan, which is “a major educational and facility challenge” according to the RSBC’s official slides. Its existing facilities also do not support the district’s current strategic improvement plan to ensure educational equity across all school curriculums.
The RSBC and School Committee are working with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to identify the most cost effective and educationally appropriate solution for the three aging elementary schools.
MSBA’s mission is to work with and support local communities in the design and construction of new schools.
“Their focus when they invite school districts in, is to identify the most cost effective and educationally appropriate solutions to the problems that have been identified [within certain schools],” Chew said. “Their process is very well-defined. They require us to examine a long range of possibilities and opportunities in order to best address the identifying concerns.”
It has also committed to reimbursing 48% of eligible costs for RSBC’s construction project. RSBC also received funds from the spring 2024 Westford Town Meeting for the feasibility study it is currently conducting.
“Not all costs are eligible for reimbursement, but the 40 percent of the eligible costs will remain at the baseline,” Chew said. “And that percentage can only increase as certain design elements come into play.”
For more information about the Robinson School Building Project and the changing districts, read our previous coverage here or visit the RSBC’s official website, which contains resources including a projected timeline of events, frequently asked questions, recordings of previous meetings, official slideshows and more. Questions may be emailed to info@robinsonschoolproject.com
