Norton School Committee reseats Callahan as chair, tables elementary improvement plan vote

NORTON -- May 6, 2026, Norton School Committee reorganizes, tables elementary improvement plan, and receives first AI task force briefing. At its May 6 meeting, the committee re-elected Justine Callahan as chair and named Dan Schleicher vice chair, seating newly elected member Heather Forbes at the same session. Principals Thomas Higgins and Paul Barrett presented a joint three-year improvement plan for the district's three elementary schools focused on parent communication, chronic absenteeism, and community-service partnerships, but the committee voted unanimously to table the approval vote after member Nick pressed for measurable benchmarks, saying, "Is it really improving attendance or did one kid show up to the day?" Superintendent Jennifer O'Neill and Director of Curriculum Brian Winsper briefed the committee on an AI task force launched in the fall, reporting that 86 percent of 317 surveyed students had used AI in some form and that the district has posted a four-level assignment scale to a staff-facing resource hub; O'Neill said student-facing guidance would launch in the fall, adding, "I think we have to rip the band-aid off." The committee also approved salary-to-salary budget transfers covering retroactive pay from the recently settled Norton Teachers Association contract and adjourned to executive session on school safety.