Weston School Committee Backs Private Campaign for $500,000 Field Lights

WESTON — January 9, 2023 — Weston School Committee unanimously backed a $500,000 private fundraising campaign for athletic lights at Field One, the district's multi-purpose high school turf field. The 5-0 vote Monday authorized resident Charlie Hipwood and Weston Boosters president Linda Angelucci to begin publicly socializing the campaign, though a return presentation with usage data and estimated utility costs is required before formal approval. The committee also received a 71-page internal science program review — drawing on surveys of 1,677 stakeholders — that identified the eighth-to-ninth-grade transition as a critical concern, with 33 percent of ninth graders reporting they felt unprepared, and flagged inadequate elementary science time as the department's top challenge. An external counseling review, conducted by a University of Massachusetts Boston-led team after a two-day April 2022 site visit, found that guidance resources were frequently unknown to families and recommended dramatically improved communications and a small set of measurable student-outcome goals. Public comment was dominated by Weston Education Association members urging the committee to close the gap between its 5.75 percent, three-year salary offer and the union's 17.25 percent ask.