School Building Conversion Options

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and numbers may be misheard.

What: options for easing crowded elementary schools by converting buildings, presented by the assistant superintendent: making Plouffe (a middle school) or Ashfield an elementary or pre-K-8 school, making George a K-8 (which would worsen space because it houses seven pre-K classrooms), moving grades out of Davis (which nets only about one extra classroom per grade), and phased roll-ins taking anywhere from three to six years. Plouffe was a new addition and would keep middle schools near 500 to 550 students and transportation on a lighter tier; making another elementary school would strain the busiest bus tier.
Where it stands: exploratory; no vote. The superintendent asked who else to involve and whether to hold community meetings. Members asked for transportation cost analysis, more meetings before any decision (there is one regular meeting in November), and a look at under-used space such as the therapeutic day school. One member said they will fight to keep Ward 6's only middle school, and another urged considering closing a school rather than shuffling students.
Context: district enrollment fell from 15,280 in 2024 to 14,106 in 2026 (a loss of 484 students this year, which one member tied to about 9.6 million dollars of funding), while students with disabilities rose from about 19.2 to 23.6 percent and English learners fell to 31 percent. Members described classrooms in gyms and hallways and cited families leaving over safety concerns.

2026-10-20 - School Committee - Presentation and discussion of conversion options; no action.