In its last meeting of the 2025-2026 school year, the Newton School Committee voted in favor of proceeding with separate construction projects for the Ward and Underwood schools and approved a revised district-wide homework policy.

The unanimous vote against consolidating the two elementary schools aligned with recommendations presented by Chief Operations Officer Josh Morse at the June 1 school committee meeting.

The question of whether to consolidate the Ward and Underwood schools has been top of mind for many affected residents in recent years. Concerns about the lack of a unified homework policy across the district have also been brought up by a number of parents during public comment at recent school committee meetings. 

“The focus of last week’s presentation was indeed on analysis that we, as a school committee, were quite excited to move forward with, with the city accelerating understanding of enrollment projections, site feasibilities, etcetera,” said Jason Bhardwaj of Ward 3. “From my perspective, we have a pretty clear set of data to move forward on that.”

The motion passed 9-0 with no discussion.

The new homework policy passed unanimously as well. Bhardwaj introduced the policy, noting that it is purposefully not too rigid so that it is enforceable, but takes into account feedback from parents and previous school committee discussions.

The new policy states that regular homework should be assigned for grades four to 12 and that homework across schools and classes should be “reasonably aligned” between the same grade. Homework must now gradually increase with each year and be “meaningfully connected” to what is being taught in the classroom.

Victor Lee of Ward 8 said the new policy avoids micromanaging teachers while still implementing a district-wide expectation.

“We want to make sure there is homework in grades four to 12, but we don’t want to be so prescriptive and say ‘it’s got to be this exact format, at this school, at this time.’ That’s taking way too much professional discretion from the people who have to deal with it on a day-to-day basis.”

Early on in the meeting, the committee recognized a number of staff members present who will be taking on additional responsibilities underneath the district’s FY2027 transition plan. Following recent cuts made to the DEI and sustainability department, existing NPS staff members were identified to embed DEI and sustainability initiatives within their current roles in the district. 

Superintendent Anna Nolin said no one on the school committee wanted to make these cuts and that it is important to highlight those who will be taking on new responsibilities. 

“They are our colleagues and they are mourning the loss of their colleagues that are part of these reductions, and also are taking on more work,” she said. “I feel like it’s important for you to see faces and names of the people who we work with every day and who are taking on additional roles.”

Ward 4 committee member Tamika Olszewski agreed, adding that it should become the school committee’s responsibility to ensure that DEI and sustainability initiatives are carried out effectively, now that there will not be a position entirely dedicated to either. 

“I think it’s a given that we have a lot of skill and capacity built within the existing staff,” she said. “[However], in the absence of that dedicated person—that center-point of accountability—I think it really rests on the school committee to become that accountable backstop, where we are reviewing these changes and making sure that, yes, as the memo outlines, these tasks are being completed.”