WEYMOUTH, Mass. — The superintendent of Weymouth Public Schools says the “economic impact of COVID-19” has forced her to recommend closing one of the town’s schools in order to fund the district’s commitment to provide full-day kindergarten in the fall, but the chairman of the town council’s budget committee called the proposal a “political move.”
Superintendent Jennifer Curtis-Whipple sent an email to the families of Nash Primary School students on Wednesday notifying them of her proposal to close the school. About 150 students are enrolled at Nash, which employs 50 full- and part-time staff members.
“We understand that this information is upsetting and surprising, and we want families to know that the recommendation to close the school is not being made lightly,” Curtis-Whipple wrote in her email. “With the unprecedented nature of the global coronavirus health crisis, our budget has been greatly affected in ways that could not have been anticipated mere weeks ago.”
Sources told Boston 25 News Curtis-Whipple met with Nash staff members Wednesday and notified them her proposal would result in 10 to 15 layoffs if approved. Many of the teachers have tenure and would be moved to other schools.
The town’s fiscal year 2021 budget was presented to Curtis-Whipple and the school committee Monday evening.
Boston 25 News has learned the budget included funding for the school department to keep its current level of services and avoid layoffs. The school department was one of only three departments to receive additional funding.
Weymouth Town Council Vice Chairman Michael Molisse, who also serves as the council’s budget committee chairman, said the school department is getting 15.77% of the limited increases included in the budget.
Molisse called Curtis-Whipples’s email to Nash families and staff members “concerning” and said it showed a “lack of leadership.”
“Less than 48 hours after the presentation, the superintendent decided to close a school without even looking at her budget for other options,” Molisse said in a statement. “She never reached out to the mayor, myself or to the public for input. This is totally a political move with not one bit of concern for the students and families of Weymouth.”
The superintendent said closing Nash is necessary in order to cover the $1.2 million cost associated with the district’s commitment to offer universal full-day kindergarten starting this fall.
Boston 25 News obtained internal memos that show the mayor’s office warned Curtis-Whipple and the school committee in November that funding and sustaining full-day kindergarten would be a challenge.
A handful of parents who reached out to Boston 25 News about the potential closing of Nash said they would have preferred the superintendent delay the full-day kindergarten program for another year rather than displace more than 150 students.
Sara Canova, whose son attends Nash, said she's concerned relocating the students to other schools will lead to overcrowding during a time when everyone is being told to stay as far apart from one another as possible.
“The biggest thing for me is the health factor of putting all those kids in a classroom,” Canova said. “It just doesn’t make sense when they’re talking about social distancing.”
Canova said parents across the district are upset, not just Nash parents.
“They don’t want more kids in the classrooms,” Canova added.
She also questioned whether the superintendent is looking at the money being saved with remote learning in place through June, such as the $350,000 remaining in the budget for substitute teachers who are no longer needed.
The Weymouth School Committee will discuss the superintendent’s proposal during a virtual meeting Thursday at a 7 p.m. A vote is expected next week.
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