Worcester School Committee Meeting - 11-12-26

The Worcester School Committee met on November 12, 2026. Procurement and spending approvals included a three-year renewal of the district website-hosting contract with Aptagee for $157,500; authorization for a lease of up to five years to replace 1,000 staff MacBooks and 6,000 student Chromebooks; and a three-year service-agreement renewal with CDW Government LLC for Lightspeed Systems and filtered services to support Children’s Internet Protection Act compliance. The committee also approved up to $8,000 for legal and filing fees to sponsor an employee for a U.S. work visa. No dollar amount was stated for the device lease. Members discussed the $175,000 North High School Intensive Assistant Initiative grant and requested an end-of-school-year report on participation, outcomes, barriers, and next steps.

The committee discussed concerns about student technology use, privacy, and screen time, but did not vote to remove devices from pre-K through second-grade classrooms; the related petition was referred for further discussion by the Teaching, Learning, and Student Success subcommittee. Members also approved a request for further analysis of technology use and educator input. Sullivan Middle School students presented concerns about restroom conditions and requested repairs and a timeline; the superintendent noted facilities staff had already met with the students, but no repair contract or spending authorization was identified. The meeting also included discussion of school boundary realignment and enrollment trends.