Mansfield School Committee Approves CHAMPS Director Job Description as Leary Retires

MANSFIELD — March 22, 2022 — Mansfield School Committee approves new CHAMPS director job description and school choice policy. The committee voted 5-0 on both items at its March 22 meeting, clearing the way to post the CHAMPS director position after longtime director Shauna Leary retires following roughly 20 years leading the program. Administrators noted no written job description had previously existed; the approved version will be amended to reflect program scope and community partnership language before posting, with a June 1 start date targeted. On school choice, the committee approved policy JFBB governing annual seat determinations, lottery procedures, and nondiscrimination requirements under Massachusetts General Law; as of the meeting, three students had applied for the 2022-23 school year ahead of an April 8 deadline. Finance administrators pushed back on community concerns about the $5,000 state reimbursement rate, calling school choice "a positive financial benefit" given that marginal costs for adding students to existing classrooms are minimal — though one member noted the flat $5,000 rate has not changed in approximately 20 years.