Overview
- Two late-Thursday concepts would again shift some Centennial Lane students, sending groups to Bryant Woods, Longfellow and Running Brook to improve socioeconomic balance and capacity.
- Option one affects 593 kindergarten–fifth grade students and 40 middle schoolers, providing overcrowding relief with moderate disruption and minor feeder inconsistencies.
- Option two impacts about 699 students, brings both elementary schools into the target capacity range, expands Swansfield walk access and increases long-term enrollment at Running Brook, which staff said would require monitoring.
- Superintendent Bill Barnes’s September recommendation kept Centennial Lane unchanged and would have raised Bryant Woods’ share of students in poverty by roughly seven percentage points, prompting parent allegations of racial and economic segregation.
- The board scheduled an Oct. 23 work session, a Nov. 6 public hearing, a Nov. 13 straw vote and a Nov. 20 final vote, with any approved changes taking effect in the 2026–27 school year.