Norton School Committee approves new internship, AP business courses

School Committee · Meeting of January 14, 2026

Norton School Committee approves two new high school courses as teacher contract tension boils over. Committee members unanimously backed an Internship Intro to Special Education and Human Services elective and an AP Business with Personal Finance course, plus $9,242 in Norton Media Center tech grants to four staff and a free temporary sunshade at the JCS ballfield. Public comment from teachers Donna Dulac and Lauren McCauley pressed the board on stalled cost-of-living raises, with McCauley saying she does "not understand why our very modest requests cannot be met." Later, a committee member publicly named MTA representative Jessica Renda Schubel and cited her past role in an illegal 2022 Brookline teachers strike, saying "what is tearing at the fabric of Norton is the politically driven influence" of the union.

The committee tabled its 2026-27 calendar vote to January 28 and heard extended debate on declining MCAS participation and scores.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of January 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.