Littleton School Committee Reorganizes, Adopts Code of Conduct, Responds to Bus Driver Arrest

LITTLETON -- May 16, 2024, Littleton School Committee reorganizes after spring elections and confronts bus driver arrest at wide-ranging May 16 meeting. Justin McCarthy was unanimously elected Chair, with Vinal Patel elected Vice Chair and Elena elected Clerk, at the committee's first meeting since the spring town election, which also seated newly elected member Jean Wood. Superintendent Kelly Clinchy addressed the arrest of a DeBus Transportation employee on charges involving a child who rode a Littleton school bus, confirming three meetings with DeBus and outlining the district's mandatory CORI and fingerprinting protocols for both staff and contracted service employees; Clinchy said "there isn't a day or an hour that a number of us within this district keep asking ourselves how and why did this happen." Students from Littleton High School's Facing History and Ourselves class presented survey results showing that 62 percent of 206 respondents had witnessed a race-based joke at school while only about 40 percent acknowledged that they or someone they knew had made one, and proposed solutions including student involvement in teacher hiring and a restorative justice program. World Languages Coordinator Liz Kelly reported 13 seniors earning the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy this year, with UMass Amherst set to offer 12 college credits for seal recipients. Athletic Director Mike Glenn reported that both the boys and girls outdoor track teams won their sectional and league championships on the day of the meeting, and flagged that the district's track surface will require a scheduled recode in 2026.