Lowell School Policy Subcommittee Clears Section C, Defers Financial Policies for Review

LOWELL — September 16, 2025 — Lowell's School Committee Policy and Governance Subcommittee completed its review of the general school administration section of the district's policy manual and referred a significant portion of the fiscal management section to city and business office staff before it can be finalized. The three-member subcommittee — chaired by Jackie Doherty and joined by members David Conway and James Del Rossi — voted to remove seven outdated Section C policies, adopt Massachusetts Association of School Committees model language for seven others, and send the completed section to the full School Committee for review, all by unanimous votes. Working with MASC policy consultant Alicia Malin, the group also cleared eight Section D fiscal policies for MASC model language adoption but referred ten others — covering warrants, purchasing, bonding, audits, and expense reimbursement — for review, citing repeated uncertainties about how those functions run through the city rather than the district. The subcommittee's final Section D vote passed 2-0, with one member absent.