Littleton School Committee Approves Budget Cut of $250,000, Advances Shaker Lane Designer Search

LITTLETON -- January 25, 2024, Littleton middle schoolers debut a DEIB initiative and the School Committee advances the Shaker Lane building project's designer search. Forty-seven students applied for 30 spots in the Playbook Initiative, a Project 351 and Boston Celtics partnership facilitated by high school students Harris Khan and Kareb Cherubino, with the first hour-and-45-minute session held the same day as the January 25 meeting; student speakers described scenario-based discussions on religious accommodation and cultural belonging. On the building front, the Massachusetts School Building Authority approved the district's Request for Designer Services for the Shaker Lane Elementary project, with a designer contract deadline of March 26, 2024, and a projected construction start of December 2, 2026. In budget news, the School Committee reported it trimmed its initial FY2025 request by $250,000 at the joint request of the Finance Committee and Select Board, with Superintendent John Clancy and Business Manager Steve Mark drawing on a healthy school choice fund balance to avoid service cuts. The committee also received an overview of the CASE Collaborative, a 46-year-old regional special education consortium currently serving three Littleton students, with per-pupil tuition rates ranging from $62,000 to $80,000, well below regional averages.