64th Annual
2026
FEBRUARY 13th - 16th Eastern States Exposition Fair Grounds, West Springfield, MA
FEBRUARY 12, 2026 | FREE
IN THIS
EDITION WESTFIELD
WHS Science and Engineering Fair top scoring projects announced This year’s Westfield Public Schools Science & Engineering Fair was one of the largest in recent memory, with over 100 judges, 350 students and 228 projects.
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SOUTHWICK
Nomination papers now available for Southwick’s election The Town Clerk nomination papers ready for those who are seeking to fill the 16 board, commission and committee seats up for election during the May municipal election.
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SRS principal and School Committee member pitch electric sign
School officials during the Select Board’s Feb. 2 meeting said an electric sign would be a good way to promote community involvement and improve the schools’ climate.
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Committee prepares for ‘bumpy’ budget season By Amy Porter
aporter@thereminder.com
WESTFIELD — During his update at the Feb. 2 School Committee meeting, Mayor Michael McCabe said he expects the school district budget to be done by March 6. Once it is, it’ll then come in front of the School Committee. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride,” McCabe said, adding, “The preliminary reports aren’t rosy.” He said regular city department budgets are due by Feb. 6. Despite that ominous forecast, McCabe said he has spent a lot of time recently at Westfield High School and Westfield Middle School, both of which are “thriving.” He also noted that two of the students with top projects at the Jan. 29 Science & Engineering Fair are representing the schools at regional sporting events. McCabe said that the city received a bid of $630,000 to renovate and repair a bathroom at Westfield Technical Academy, which has never been in the School Department budget. He said the bid was submitted to the City Council, and he hopes to have it approved this month. Also discussed was the future of the Head Start building at 390 Southampton Road, which Community Action of Pioneer Valley told McCabe would be vacated in June at the end of their lease, which expires in May. Head Start is moving to a new facility being built at Southampton Road and Falcon Drive. McCabe said there are plans for future use of the building by the district, which will be brought to the full School Committee. He said the plans could bring an immediate financial
The Westfield Middle School Choir, led by Kerry Cipoletta, performed at the start of the Feb. 2 School Committee meeting. Photo credit: Westfield Community TV
benefit by creating a space where out-of-district placement could be addressed in the department. Special Education Administrator Greg Rosenthal said a proper presentation is in order for the plans being discussed, which potentially include small group instruction in a separate setting that would be more beneficial for the students and would be a savings if the program were in district instead of out of district. Bo Sullivan, who chairs the Finance Committee, said that although the budget isn’t due until March 6, he wondered if Rosenthal’s presentation could include numbers in cost savings built into the budget, if that number is known. “It will be preliminary, but I’ll have some projections for you,” Rosenthal said. The presentation was scheduled for the next School Committee meeting,
which is on March 2 due to the February holiday. Kathleen Hillman said that after she served as a judge for the high school science fair, she stopped in at two programs at Westfield School that she wanted to bring to the attention of the School Committee. The first was the culinary program, which she said has a brand new sink and new tables. “I think it’s important that all students are able to go into this special class,” Hillman said. She said the program, which was threatened with elimination during last year’s budget talks, is moving forward, and the community has reached out with its support. “I’m very proud of that,” she said. Hillman also visited the Community Closet at WHS for the first time. She said it was open, and students were in there,
hanging out. “All students feel comfortable going in. The teacher was telling me, even staff use that program,” she said, including one teacher who spilled coffee on herself and needed a shirt. Hillman said when asked what they needed, she was told folders and pencils. They also accept clothing, and regularly keep bags of clothing for students going into foster care. Donations may be dropped off at WHS and will be put into the Community Closet. At the start of the meeting, Westfield Middle School Principal Jesse McMillan introduced the school’s new chorus teacher, Kerry Cipoletta, who formerly taught at Westfield Intermediate School. He said she has increased participation this year to See BUDGET on page 2