Joining a mounting wave of suburban opposition across Massachusetts, the School Committee voted unanimously last night to reject Governor William Weld’s controversial statewide school-choice plan.
“It would do very little good and an awful lot of harm,” committee member Joseph M. Pentowski declared just before the vote.
Sponsored by the Weld administration to foster academic excellence through market competition, the state program allows parents to enroll their children in any public school district that opts into the plan, with the student’s home municipality footing the tuition bill. However, Norwood officials expressed deep skepticism, viewing the initiative as an urban-centric policy ill-suited for suburban communities.
Local Concerns: Overcrowding, Special Education, and Financial Strain
During the debate, board members and local residents highlighted several major pitfalls that motivated their rejection:
- Geographic Vulnerability: Board member Christopher Curran pointed out that Norwood’s accessibility via public bus lines would likely trigger a massive influx of students transferring from nearby urban centers like Boston. “The program is to alleviate the problems of the city areas, the urban schools,” Curran said. “This is not for the suburbs.”
- Surging Enrollments: Superintendent of Schools James Savage noted that local school enrollments are already trending ahead of official projections, leaving little room for uncalculated population growth.
- Special Needs Burdens: Member Roger Ferris warned that the financial liability of absorbing outside students requiring costly specialized services could be catastrophic. “We have a fairly good special needs program,” Ferris said. “What happens if we get an influx of special needs children? It would cripple us economically.”
Community Backing
The committee’s unanimous stance received strong support from local parents. Town Meeting member Antoinette Eosco, attending the meeting with her husband Steven on behalf of their two daughters in Norwood schools, urged the board to shut the door on the program.
Noting that Norwood has successfully preserved its library, sports, and arts programs while other districts flounder, Eosco argued that the choice plan promotes avoidance rather than reform. “A lot of other towns aren’t. Some schools are closing down their libraries, cutting out their sports or arts. We haven’t had to do that. So with this plan, everyone would want to come to Norwood,” she said, labeling the initiative “stupid.” “If a town is in trouble, the answer is not an exodus of kids. Running away from your problems doesn’t solve them.”
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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