Agenda Preview: February 26 School Committee Meetings
Reconsideration, Instructional Framework Update, Lowering the Walking Distance
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February 26 School Committee Meeting
The next school committee meeting is scheduled for February 26. Executive session starts at 5 p.m. and the general meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m, but it depends on how long the executive session lasts. See the full agenda here. You can watch it via zoom or Youtube Live. Spanish translation is available on zoom. A reminder that this is a quick preview and does not include everything on the agenda.
Reconsideration: Burncoat Indoor Track.
Member Dianna Biancheria (district C) filed for “reconsideration” on an item from the February 6 meeting from Sue Mailman (at-large) that said “To unanimously support legislation filed by Sen Robyn Kennedy S390 - to create a commission to study MSBA to look at the funding process and the award process. Support for such a commission is especially important as we work on plans for a new Burncoat High School and explore the possibility of an indoor track facility.” Reconsideration can be filed within 48 business hours of a vote and according to the school committee rules, a reason needs to be supplied by the requesting member. Here is Biancheria’s reasons (provided in the agenda backup):
Senator Kennedy’s legislation is asking for a commission to look at the MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority) building process, which as reported by the New Bedford Light (below) and in an excellent report by the Worcester Research Bureau and MassINC, shows that the MSBA’s core program disproportionately benefits suburban districts.
One of those things a new commission could change is allowing schools to build indoor tracks, which is currently prohibited. And for Worcester specifically, since the closing of the old South High indoor track in 2021, it means student athletes have had to go all the way to Northbridge to access one. (Highly recommend reading Jesse Collings’ Telegram article on this for more context).
Comments from Members Maureen Binienda (at-large), Alex Guardiola (district D) and Biancheria on this item at the February 6 meeting focused around supporting the idea of the commission, but with concerns around how the support of legislation may weaken the relationship with the MSBA and could impact Worcester’s negotiating position. The item passed 7-2 with Biancheria and Roy voting against. City council had a similar item (without the Burncoat track part) that was approved unanimously on February 3.
Under the current MSBA structure, in order for Burncoat High School to have an indoor track, Worcester would have to pay for it. Which, according to a similar project at Lexington High School this past fall put estimates for a MIAA regulation indoor track at around $55 million.
Reconsideration is voted on before public comment, so email is the best way to communicate to school committee members before the vote.
Report of the Superintendent.
This meeting’s report is on Instructional Framework - Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Enhanced.
School Committee Rule Change.
Sue Mailman (at-large) has an item to amend school committee rules so that the start of the public meeting is not delayed longer than 15 minutes of published start time. Because executive session happens before the public meeting, it can be especially challenging for people to know when to expect public comment to start. A few years ago, when I was there to speak on behalf of a school site council, the executive session went over an hour past the published start time.
Lowering distance for walkers.
Jermaine Johnson (district F) has a request to lower the walking cutoff from 2 miles to 1.5 miles. This applies to middle and high school students, as most elementary students are assigned a bus route if they live a mile or more from school. In January of 2025 the district received a grant for electric buses that allowed the district to add 15 more school bus routes, which the district said at the time could potentially allow the district to reduce the walk radius for middle schools from two miles to 1.5 miles and reduce the walk radius for high schools to less than two miles.
Blocking websites from students.
There is a response back from administration to an item from Kathi Roy (district E) about what firewalls and precautions are in place to prevent students from connecting to internet sites that are outside the educational uses of chromebooks/ipads.
Collecting student biometric data.
Two petitions I filed last July are back on the agenda after being voted down in standing committee. One calls for explicit parent/guardian consent before any third-party vendor can use student data to train artificial intelligence; the other requires explicit consent before collecting biometric data such as audio, photos, or video. Both stem from a specific incident in which the district allowed the venture-backed company Amira Learning to record and retain early elementary students’ voices to train its AI system without informing parents.
The petitions were heard at the February 3 Teaching, Learning and Student Success (TLSS) meeting, where ten parents spoke in support, all parents of primarily elementary-aged children. The majority of the committee voted to file the petitions and largely dismissed the concerns; I’ve never seen that many people speak on a single issue at a standing committee meeting.
The petitions now go before the full committee for a final vote on Thursday. I sent an email to committee members afterward, voicing my concerns, and asking them not to file the petitions. I’m also appreciative of the superintendent for hearing parent concerns and expressing at the February 5 school committee meeting the district’s willingness to work collaboratively toward a resolution.
Other Items.
A request to get an update on proposed changes to Woodland/Claremont.
A proposed revision to remove the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act opt out form from the Student Handbook.
A request to get an update on girls flag football in WPS.
That’s it. Have a good week! If you have feedback you can always get in touch: aislinn.doyle@me.com