Committee May Hold Public Hearing on School Choice

Seekonk School Committee chair Robert Gerardi is seeking more information from the administration about school choice. A public hearing may be scheduled for early next year.

Superintendent Rebecca Kidwell told the committee Monday there were five seats available in the high school classes of 2027, 2028, and 2029.

“We could readily offer five seats in the class of 2030, which will be next year’s incoming freshmen (at the high school),” Kidwell noted. “That’s the number of seats we would be losing with the graduating seniors even though there’s a differential in the class size of the graduating seniors versus the incoming eighth graders.”

Kidwell pointed out that since the committee voted to allow school choice, they would have to vote to not allow it before June 1 if they wanted to withdraw it as an option.

“If you want to continue with school choice, we have already had parents inquiring about their freshmen for next year,” Kidwell added. “The word is out there that we might be a good place to be.”

Gerardi noted that approving school choice “was a difficult decision last year.”

Last May, Gerardi, Lisa Rizzo, and Alicia MacManus voted in the affirmative with Kyle Juckett and Emily Field in opposition.

“While attending a Finance Committee meeting before I was elected, the recommendation was for departments to explore programs that increase revenue,” Gerardi said before the vote. “I believe that filling empty seats in (high school) classrooms with school choice students will be fiscally responsible for the tax payers of Seekonk.”

Juckett expressed his doubts about school choice. Juckett pointed out an ongoing shortage of classroom space for students. Welcoming more students into the district would be “a counterargument to the things that we’re trying to do with our buildings.”

“Financially, I just see it as a higher risk than reward. Overall, the entire scope of it, I don’t see it being a net positive.”

“At this point, I’m going to keep my options open,” Gerardi said. “I’m not going to declare one way or another because I want to hear the information from the administration and I want to hear community input as well, then we will make our decision when the time comes.”