School Committee remains split on open campus policy at WHS

The School Committee tabled the open campus policy for National Honors Society students for a third time on Wednesday.

School Committee member John Frassica will research the guidelines and terminology present in other districts’ handbooks and present it to the School Committee at their August 13 meeting. School Committee members first heard about the program June 6.

The pilot program began during the second semester of the 2023-2024 school year and allows NHS students to leave campus during their directed study periods. Over the last school year, 62 students participated in the fall and 50 students participated in the spring.

Initially, the program required parental approval before students could take advantage of the privilege — an opt-in model. At the June 18 meeting, the School Committee expressed concerns about the proposed opt-out model for the program, in which students would not need parental approval to leave campus, though parents could opt their students out of the program if desired. The NHS advisors for Waltham High School, Debra McCarthy and Marisa Maddox, agreed to revert back to the opt-in model after hearing the Committee’s concerns.

Now, as the policy’s advocates continue to seek codification in the handbook, the School Committee has other concerns.

School Committee member Elizabeth AlJammal also discussed the fairness of the program.

“It doesn’t feel right to me that we have one set of students who have guidelines that they need to adhere to and then another set of students that cannot,” she said.

McCarthy and Maddox agree. So does Superintendent Marisa Mendonsa.

In a memo to the School Committee, Mendonsa outlined her recommendation against the program’s formal implementation, citing fairness, strain on staff members and the cloudy issue of liability should anything happen to students while they are off campus.

McCarthy and Maddox understand the concerns, but they underscore the benefits of the program.

The NHS students give back to the community, McCarthy said. “This is our way to give back to them too.”

In other action,

• the School Committee accepted donations to the Waltham Public Schools Bridge Program and Kennedy Middle School’s Drama Program.
• the School Committee approved a $10,000-bonus for Mendonsa for fiscal year 2026. Her contract outlines the qualifications for a bonus. Mendonsa met or exceeded the required expectations listed in her contract.
• Mendonsa updated the School Committee on her letter to the U.S. Department of Education and Homeland Security. The letter asked the latter to reconsider the times of day in which they are conducting their stops and arrests and be mindful of students who may witness the activity. Mendonsa has not received a reply to the letter, which she sent in May, besides a response confirming its receipt. Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy requested and received approval from the School Committee to send her own similar letter.