Three enrollment paths laid out: what 470, 705 and 1,065 mean for Westford schools

At a July 21 tri-board meeting, the design team presented three enrollment scenarios the MSBA asked the district to evaluate: a 470-student model that replaces Robinson as a preK'2 school, a 705-student consolidated preK model that combines Robinson and Abbott, and a 1,065-student model that would consolidate Robinson, Abbott and Day into one facility.

"At the bottom of this slide, you'll see 470 students at prek to 2, 705 students at prek to 5, and 1,065 students at prek to 5," a presenter explained while walking the boards through MSBA enrollment scenarios. The team said the scenarios map to distinct building sizes: roughly 107,000 sq ft (470), 142,000 sq ft (705) and 191,000 sq ft (1,065).

Designers and committee members emphasized that larger consolidated options trigger redistricting and can concentrate seats in one part of town, raising transportation and access concerns. "For the larger schools the 705 and 1,065 we determine that only the Abbott site is really suitable," a presenter said, underscoring that not every parcel can host every enrollment option.

Next procedural steps include a school committee vote on enrollment in October and subsequent site selection; the district will then cost and analyze at most 2' options in PSR before advancing to schematic design.