The May 5th School Committee meeting began with public comment, and then Dr. Nolin presented her regular Superintendent’s Update, which included mention of the restart of an educator exchange program with schools in China (following its pause during and after the Covid pandemic), as well an exhibit at the NPS Education Center on Walnut Street for Jewish-American Heritage Month, arranged by students in Newton North High School’s Jewish-American history course.
Attendance
Director of Family and Community Engagement Christina Maryland then introduced the newly appointed NPS Manager of Student Attendance, Lynn Vincent. Ms. Maryland stated Ms. Vincent would bring a “less punitive” approach to the issue of chronic student absenteeism and said her focus would be “about prevention, education, and holistic engagement.” NPS previously had a part-time attendance officer who focused mainly on cases of high school absenteeism that rose to the level of court intervention. Ms. Vincent will be a full-time employee focused across all students. Dr. Nolin has previously discussed chronic absenteeism as a factor in the district’s academic performance, and that “ELL [English Language Learner] families tend to rise up as higher in the percentage” of chronically absent students. Massachusetts defines chronically absent as missing 10% or more of school days. According to DESE, 14.0% of NPS students for the 2023-2024 school year were chronically absent (note this includes absences which may have been excused).
Private-School Survey
Next, NPS Chief of Data and Research Dr. Katy Hogue, along with Dr. Nolin, then presented a standalone report with private-school attendance statistics, as well as interview and survey responses of private-school families who have left NPS. Dr. Hogue noted that all school districts must maintain a census of every school-aged child, and previously this data had been condensed into the annual overall NPS enrollment report. She stated that Newton’s school-aged population has declined by 170 students (decrease 1.2%) since the prior year, and that 21.7% of Newton’s school-aged students do not attend NPS.
An 84-page report accompanied the presentation, which listed all of the detailed responses to private-school family interviews and listening sessions. Themes across the feedback provided to NPS were lack of rigorous challenge for advanced students, concerns about the appropriate engagement of special needs students, large class sizes, and the district’s response to Covid-19 (when Newton lagged behind neighboring districts, and most of the earth, in returning students to in-person learning).
The Committee then discussed the required annual hearing and vote on whether NPS would participate in the state’s Commonwealth School Choice program. No individual from the public made any public comment during the designated period, and the Committee voted unanimously to follow Dr. Nolin’s recommendation not to participate in the program for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Budget
The meeting concluded with a relatively brief update and discussion on the ongoing NPS budget situation, which presently sits with the City Council pending a joint meeting of the Council’s Finance and Public Services Committees on Thursday, May 8. Dr. Nolin stated she had circulated a memorandum from the School Committee’s outside counsel, Andrew Waugh, describing the legal considerations of the School Committee pursuing an NPS budget for Fiscal Year 2026 larger than the City’s NPS allocation, and Mayor Fuller clarified that the 45-day period during which the City Council may deliberate and vote on the City’s budget ends on June 6. The legal memorandum was not posted in the School Committee’s public materials folder, and has been requested by Fig City News.
Tamika Olszewski (Ward 4) and Rajeev Parlikar (Ward 1) made statements implying that the School Committee will have no ability to begin implementing any budget for the next school year that does not conform to the City’s allocation. However, the legal guidance given publicly during the School Committee’s April 30 meeting was vague regarding how Massachusetts General Law interprets a district incurring “liabilities,” which according to statements in that meeting has never been tested in state court.
The meeting replay is available on NewTV.
Editorial Note: this article was updated to include the state’s definition of “chronically absent” and the related NPS data.
