The School Committee will hold a hybrid public hearing regarding School Choice on Wednesday, April 24 at 5:30PM, followed by a Regular Meeting. (Zoom link. Agenda.)
School Choice
The public hearing is on whether Newton Public Schools (NPS) should participate in Massachusetts’ Inter-District School Choice Program. As previously covered by Fig City News, the Committee Members, including the Mayor, appear undecided whether NPS should approve School Choice for the 2024-2025 academic year, and if so how many open student slots the district should offer. A final vote is scheduled for May 6.
A memorandum describing the School Choice program, presented at the April 1 School Committee meeting, contains several links to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) website. Among other information, the DESE website contains a spreadsheet of which school districts are participating in School Choice this academic year. None appear to be in Newton’s close vicinity, with the majority being far outside of Boston, including many on Cape Cod and Massachusetts’ south shore.
Superintendent Anna Nolin has presented Newton’s participation in School Choice as a tool to give the district both financial and operational flexibility. Newton would receive a $5,000 per-student tuition reimbursement for those students who live out-of-district and attend NPS. This reimbursement can increase if a student receives special services, according to page 8 of the memorandum cited above. However, School Committee member Rajeev Parlikar (Ward 1, former President of the Special Education Parent Advisory Council, SEPAC) has expressed concern in prior meetings over the total cost of students requiring extra help.
The cost-benefit analysis of whether NPS should enroll in School Choice is complex and involves several assumptions. If a district received more in-bound student interest in attending than it has open seats, it will institute a lottery to…
