Westborough Woods Would Require K-3 Redistricting, School Board Chairman Says

Westborough Woods' housing component would "require redistricting for our K to 3 schools" if constructed, Westborough School Committee Chairman Ilyse Levine-Kanji says.

Levine-Kanji also outlined the Route 9 mixed use project's potential impact on the Westborough public schools in a Sept. 4 letter to Massachusetts Housing Partnership Senior Loan Officer Amanda Roe. The town has filed a response as well, Levine-Kanji said during the Sept. 10 school committee meeting.

"The town needs to be cognizant of what an extra 120 students will mean in terms of funding and school logistics," Levine-Kanji said.

The 314,230-square-foot project proposed for 346 Turnpike Road consists of 250 rental apartments, of which 62 would be affordable; a 6,234-square-foot clubhouse with outdoor swimming pool; and a 5,234-square-foot retail building, according to the Sept. 7 Certificate of the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs on the Environmental Notification Form.

Levine-Kanji told Roe that Westborough faces a more than 3 percent enrollment increase if the project happens.

The Armstrong Elementary School, which is the nearest school, "Armstrong, is already filled to capacity," Levine-Kanji said in its letter.

"Westborough therefore would have to consider building an additional school
or expanding existing buildings, purchasing additional materials (including desks and computers), and hiring additional teaching personnel," Levine-Kanji wrote.

Safety and traffic are concerns as well, the board wrote.

"For safety reasons, Westborough buses only drive on Route 9 in extenuating circumstances, such as when Route 30 is blocked by an accident, and we would be concerned about sending buses routinely on Route 9," the letter says.

"At the least, an additional acceleration lane would have to be added to the
mouth of the development so that buses could merge onto Route 9 without being hit by faster-moving traffic. More than one egress from the development would also be optimal so that students aren’t sitting on buses waiting a long time to pull out onto Route 9."

State Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard Sullivan Jr. ruled that 346 Turnpike LLC's project does not require an environmental impact report.