It was a night of furrowed brows and frowning faces last Thursday as the North Middlesex Regional School District School Committee reversed course again on the fate of the Ashby Elementary School.
The committee voted to close Ashby Elementary during a public hearing on Feb. 6 as a means of addressing budget concerns for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1. This is the second time the committee moved to close the Main Street building (along with the Spaulding Memorial School in Townsend), with the first vote taking place at its Dec. 3 meeting before being rescinded at a Jan. 16 meeting. While that January vote was meant for the committee to investigate new methods of handling budget deficits, the committee came back to the conclusion that closing Ashby Elementary would help the district save an estimated $400,000 to $600,000 in custodial costs and staff consolidation.
“I know that this is an emotionally charged subject for everyone involved. These are not light decisions that anyone makes,” School Committee Chair Lisa Martin said after the vote was made. “But, we simply do not have the money to continue doing this, and the can is getting kicked down the road. We need to find a solution to help us and I know that the state is not going to come in and help us at this time. We may have to look at closing another school as well, so I want the public to know that that’s a possibility as well.”
Patrick McPhillips, a Pepperell representative of the committee, first made the motion to close Ashby and Spaulding near the end of the five-hour meeting. While that first motion didn’t go forward to a vote, he later voted to close Ashby instead of Spaulding to alleviate concerns of how to handle district growth in the future. Committee Vice Chair Randee Rusch, a representative of Townsend, motioned to table that closing vote, but it was voted down 4-5. Shortly after, the motion to close Ashby Elementary (but not Spaulding Memorial) came back up and was then approved in a 5-4 vote.
When asked for a follow-up reaction to the hearing and the vote, McPhillips offered no comment.
In an email sent Friday after the hearing, Rusch called the new vote “extremely disappointing” and made without proper knowledge of “what the school configuration would look like with the switch in schools.”
“While I do believe we need to keep pressuring the state for more equitable funding, we also still need to find a way to provide a quality education to all students in the district this year and the future,” Rusch added. “It is easy to cut a building and not consider the educational ramifications going forward if all you want to do is get this year’s budget down. A building can only be cut once and then the savings are quickly negated by the budget drivers increasing the next year.”
Speaking for herself, School Committee member June McNeil said the decision to close the school was “made hastily with no regard to process, no plan, and with very little information from the district administration.” She noted how the proposed budget for fiscal 2026 doesn’t take “moving costs, bussing costs, or grant obligations” into account when talking about closing Ashby Elementary. She also foresees “a long-term negative impact” on the community from the closure.
“Our demographic is about to permanently shift in all three towns,” McNeil added via email after the meeting. “Ashby families will move away, young families will not move to a town with no school, home values will decrease, and Ashby district enrollment will plummet annually causing Townsend and Pepperell enrollment percentages and district budget portions to increase regularly. While our district has been in a downward spiral for some time due to the budget crisis, this will undoubtedly compound the problem.”
With the recent meeting being a public hearing, various district members offered public comment on the fate of both schools. Caitlin Marcos, a second grade teacher at Spaulding Memorial, said the closing of the Townsend school and movement of younger students to district schools farther away “poses some inequities” on those children.
“As many of you know, transitions can be challenging to some of our youngest learners and can directly impact their social, emotional, and academic success,” Marcos added. “The anxiety and stress associated with such changes can lead to a decline in their academic performance, focus, and motivation.”
Vincent Arone of West Townsend expressed concern over lost revenue for the town if Spaulding closes and families move out of the area as a result. On top of that, he noted how he felt uncomfortable with younger Townsend children being on school buses for “most likely over an hour by themselves with nobody but a bus driver” getting to district schools farther away from town. He also noted it will be more difficult for families to reach their children at those schools if there is ever an emergency.
“One of the main reasons we came to this town three years ago was because of the proximity to the schools and the community that surrounded it,” Arone added at the hearing. “This is absurd that we’re talking about closing a school like Spaulding, like I can’t even wrap my head around it at this point. With that said, I will be one of the families considering leaving this town if Spaulding closes.”
Ashby resident Garry Baer said that he found none of the options presented in regard to next year’s budget offer a succinct plan that will “right the ship” in terms of district money. He added that there should be a strategic five-year plan put together to ensure towns in the district are in financial harmony and don’t face more budget strife at future town meetings.
“What we have here is not a plan,” Baer added. “What we have is ‘Groundhog Day’ and we’re tired of being Bill Murray.”
Fellow Ashby resident Tara Smith noted the district has been in a “negative net position” of up to $7 million for the last five years and questioned how effective the closure of Ashby Elementary would be to the overall budget.
“What difference is $600,000 going to do to that?” Smith added. “This is a bandaid, this is not solving the problem.”
Superintendent Brad Morgan proposed two methods to keep Ashby open at the Jan. 16 meeting: moving fifth grade students into Ashby that would turn it from a K-4 school into a K-5 school, or having Ashby Elementary become a K-1 school for all of Ashby and all of Townsend. At the public hearing, however, Morgan stressed that Ashby likely wouldn’t be able to handle more students in its limited building space.
“In looking at everything and having more time to really look at the numbers and look at the flexibility, I would not recommend closing two buildings,” Morgan added at the hearing. “I do think we could end up in a really difficult spot if anything happens with regard to growth.”
Though Ashby’s fate looks grim, the committee noted in its final vote that Spaulding Memorial will still be up for discussion. The committee now has until Feb. 26 to pass its proposed budget for fiscal 2026. McNeil noted that the committee will need to approve the budget by a two-thirds majority before being approved by two-thirds of the towns in the district. If the budget doesn’t get the approval, McNeil says it’s “back to the drawing board” with more cuts needed.
“If a budget is not approved by July 1, the state intervenes and certifies an interim monthly budget,” she added. “If it is still not approved by Dec. 1, the state further intervenes to assume operation of the district budget. I hope it does not get to that point, however perhaps the state would finally get a sense of the fiscal challenge the district is facing and respond to our needs of increased funding.”