Teacher’s union settles new contract
After eight months of negotiations, the Acton-Boxborough Education Association (ABEA) and Acton-Boxborough School Committee have agreed on a new three-year contract for the period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029. The agreement was formally approved by the School Committee at a business meeting held on June 25, the last day of the 2025-26 school year.
The contract includes a new section on health and safety, addresses improvements pertaining to family and medical leave benefits, and clarifies working conditions related to caseloads and workloads. The contract also includes a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase of 6.25 percent over the life of the contract with a 2.75 percent increase in 2026-27 (plus a $1,000 bonus this July), and a 1.75 percent increase in each subsequent year.
ABEA President and long-time R.J. Grey Junior High School Educator, Mike Balulescu, shared the news with the community via a June 25 letter that was posted in several local Facebook groups and in the Acton Exchange.
The contract covers classroom and special education teachers, unified arts educators, specialized teaching personnel, instructional and digital literacy coaches, school counselors, psychologists, occupational, physical, and speech and language therapists, librarians, nurses, Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), high school department leaders, and department chairs.
Superintendent gets high marks at annual evaluation
Chair Tori Campbell announced on June 11 that the School Committee has given Superintendent of Schools Peter Light the highest possible overall rating of “exemplary” on the 2025-26 Superintendent’s performance evaluation, with members “consistently citing Light’s steady, professional leadership in one of the most consequential periods in the District’s history.”
Members commended Light’s skill as an instructional leader who has “defined strategic direction and embedded leadership structures and operational systems now being implemented that will position Acton-Boxborough for long-term success under future leadership.”
School Committees in Massachusetts are required under Massachusetts General Law to conduct a public, annual performance review of the Superintendent that documents progress toward District goals and in four broad areas: instructional leadership, management and operations, family and community engagement, and professional culture. Committee members are required to select a rating that qualifies performance in each area as either unsatisfactory, needs improvement, proficient, or exemplary, based on evidence.
Annual goals for 2025-26 focused on finalizing the District’s new five-year strategic plan for 2026-31. The plan, which was redubbed AB Forward: Shaping our Future Together, included an ambitious reorganization of the District’s elementary schools in response to unremitting financial pressures. A second goal continues a multiyear process of embedding a set of principles and aligned instructional and administrative practices across schools driven by the District’s newly adopted Vision of a Graduate, a core set of skills, knowledge, and habits of mind that prepares students for life after high school.
The premise of Vision of a Graduate is that schools can play a unique and vital role in setting students up for success by linking attributes prioritized in the Vision to standards of practice for teaching and learning so that students have opportunities to develop and intentionally practice targeted skills such as analytical and creative thinking, resilience, and flexibility as they move through the curriculum.
Earlier in the meeting, High School sophomore Nihal Ozkan was presented with a certificate of recognition for her artistic rendition of Acton-Boxborough’s Vision of Graduate competencies which includes adaptability, communication, collaboration, intellectual curiosity and integrity. Her artwork, which was chosen through a student competition, will be displayed in all District classrooms next year.
Subsequent to the evaluation, the Committee voted unanimously to increase Light’s salary for the fiscal year 2026-27 by 2.5 percent to $263,017.11.
New superintendent search subcommittee appointed
At their June 11 meeting, the School Committee approved the appointment of Acton members Lisa Adil, Jacob Fay, and Boxborough member Adam Klein to a new subcommittee called the Superintendent Search Subcommittee that will support the work of getting the new superintendent search process underway. Klein will serve as its chair. Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Andrew Shen, will serve as the District’s liaison overseeing the logistics of the search.
Superintendent Peter Light announced in February his decision to pursue another leadership opportunity overseas after the conclusion of the 2026-27 school year.
School Committee Chair Tori Campbell explained that the work of screening applicants and selecting finalists will fall to an as-yet-to-be appointed screening committee which will include community stakeholders as well as the three members of the Superintendent Search Subcommittee. Cambell set the expectation that all School Committee members are invited to volunteer for site visits and attend forums throughout the selection process. The full School Committee interviews finalists and has final appointing authority.
The Committee contracted with The Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management (Collins Center) to lead the upcoming superintendent search, which is scheduled to begin this fall.
Committee discusses plans for the Conant School building
At their June 18 business meeting and workshop, the School Committee approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that allows the Town of Acton’s municipal departments to temporarily occupy designated areas in the Luther B. Conant Elementary School building beginning August 2026 while the Town Hall building on Main Street undergoes renovations. Renovation work is expected to be completed over 16 months. The MOU was also approved by Acton’s Select Board at its July 6 business meeting.
The Conant Elementary School permanently closed as of June 30, 2026 as part of the AB Forward elementary school reorganization, with no future plans to utilize the building as an elementary school.
Meanwhile, Superintendent Peter Light announced at the June 11 School Committee meeting that the School District’s Community Education Department is also looking to utilize part of the Conant Elementary School building so they can expand access to their popular Extended Day Program which provides fee-based before-and-after-school care for Acton-Boxborough families with elementary school-age children.
Light noted that Acton-Boxborough Regional High School is also seeking space at Conant to set up a competition field for a newly created student robotics club which has already attracted the interest of about 50 Acton-Boxborough High School students. A robotics competition field is an enclosed arena where teams can test the programming and mechanical engineering of autonomous or remotely controlled robots as they negotiate obstacles and engage in competitive games.
The High School recently expanded its curriculum to include Robotics classes in grades 9-12.
School Resource Officers (SRO) Update
Finally, Acton Police Detectives Anthony (“AJ”) Rotella and Monica Ricci, and Boxborough Police Officer Diosmar (Ray) Reynoso and Sergeant Phillip Gath, who serve as School Resources Officers for the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, presented an update on the District’s School Resource Officer Program at the School Committee’s June 11 business meeting.
The presentation included an overview of program goals which, Officer Reynoso explained, includes increasing the presence of SROs in the community. “We’re here to help,” said Reynoso. “People typically see police officers only during a crisis, so I think it’s huge to be out there interacting with the community so we are more familiar and people can see us as a resource.”
Detective Ricci noted that SROs undergo more specialized training compared to traditional police officers. “We are more advanced with crisis intervention and de-escalation and more up to date on juvenile law, child assistance, and sexual assault training,” said Ricci. “We’re also an excellent tool for those needing mental health resources and we have a mental health clinician who works with us,” Ricci said.
Detective Rotella shared statistics on the types of incidents SROs responded to during the 2025-26 school year. These included physical altercations, bus violation complaints, digital misconduct, vandalism and other suspicious activity, weapons reports, arrests, motor vehicle accidents, medical and mental health emergencies, larcenies, and intentional and accidental 911 calls. Logs also include frequency of referrals to restorative justice programs, which are diversion programs that engage offenders in activities that focus on repairing harm done to victims of low-level crime in lieu of sending offenders into the criminal justice system. SROs also do well-being checks, help with traffic control, and conduct trainings for fire and ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) drills.
The update is a required part of the Memorandum of Understanding between the School District and Acton and Boxborough Police Departments.
Diane Baum is the Acton Exchange School Committee beat reporter.
