Worcester draft bodywork rules target trafficking, limit spa hours

Worcester would license bodywork businesses and their workers for the first time under draft rules that the city’s top inspector says target human trafficking at an estimated 25 to 30 illicit spas.

Nicholas Antanavica, commissioner of Inspectional Services, walked the Board of Health through the proposal Monday, Nov. 9. He said the city has roughly 50 to 75 bodywork businesses in all, and staff will rely on those estimates until inspectors complete a citywide count.

“One of the biggest things that we found around body works is that they harbor illicit activity for human trafficking,” Antanavica said.

The 16-section draft goes further than his presentation in several places. It would limit business hours and let the board permanently revoke a permit after finding that a crime took place, even without a criminal charge.

A gap in state law

Bodywork covers touch-based treatments that fall outside the state’s massage therapy license. The draft lists 23 accepted practices, including shiatsu, acupressure, Reiki, Thai bodywork and Ayurvedic medicine. State guidance on massage therapy law says local boards of health may regulate those fields.

The draft’s purpose statement says people in the industry “commonly identify themselves as bodyworkers” to avoid the state’s massage therapy rules. The board would act under its power to make “reasonable health regulations” under state law.

The Division of Public Health would issue permits, and the city’s commissioner of Health and Human Services and public health director would approve applications and certifications. Antanavica said Inspectional Services would carry out inspections. The draft also lets agents from his department, the Worcester Police Department and the city’s Quality of Life Task Force suspend a permit on the spot.

Staff borrowed from regulations in Oxford, Framingham and other communities. “Plagiarism is the best form of compliment, I guess,” Antanavica said.

Who could get a permit

Owners and practitioners would have to be at least 21. Both would submit criminal record and sex offender registry checks, and owners would have to keep a manager with a practitioner permit on site during business hours.

For establishment applicants, the draft disqualifies anyone with a conviction for a sex-related offense or felony against a person in the past 10 years, any misdemeanor or felony conviction in the past five years, or a prior bodywork license revocation. The practitioner section requires applicants to disclose the same history but does not list it as disqualifying.

Practitioners would need national certification from groups such as the American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia or the American Reflexology Certification Board. They would also need a letter from a Massachusetts physician, dated within six months, confirming a physical exam, current adult vaccinations and no communicable disease, plus tuberculosis screening when a doctor calls for it.

At least one CPR-certified person would have to be on site whenever a business is open. A business without one would face immediate suspension. Antanavica had described CPR certification as a requirement for every practitioner.

Antanavica told the board practitioners could work at more than one location. One section of the draft limits practitioners to the establishment listed on their permit, while another lets them work at other Worcester locations with no added fee.

Rules inside the business

Businesses could open only from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. By comparison, Plymouth’s bodywork bylaw allows treatment until 10 p.m.

Treatment rooms would need at least 70 square feet and doors that cannot lock. The front door would stay unlocked during business hours, with side and rear doors reserved for employees.

Nobody could sleep or live at a business. Owners would have to remove any shower or household items that would let employees live on site before the business could reopen.

The draft bans blackout curtains, window sprays and posters that block windows or doors. New businesses would need a waiting area open to the public.

“There shouldn’t be anything happening in a front room that needs to be hidden anyways,” Antanavica said.

He told the board every treatment room would have a hand-washing sink. The draft requires at least one sink near the treatment rooms.

The draft also bans all latex products. Webster’s regulations allow latex with a warning sign. It bars items “of sexual nature” from the premises and stock photos from advertising. Businesses would record each client’s name, address and date of birth and hand over those records on request or face suspension.

Clients would have to show proof they are at least 18. Practitioners could not work from a home, condominium, hotel or motel.

Enforcement

Inspectors would make at least two unannounced visits a year. Turning an inspector away would bring immediate revocation under the inspection section, though another section calls for “suspension or revocation.”

The board could permanently revoke a permit after finding at a hearing that a criminal act occurred. The draft sets the standard at a “preponderance of the evidence” and requires no criminal charge or conviction.

Using an alias, exposing a client, treating a minor or letting anyone sleep on site would cost an establishment its permit. The practitioner involved would also lose their permit and could never reapply in Worcester.

Permit holders would have seven days to report any criminal complaint against them. Permits would expire each Dec. 31. Existing businesses would have 30 days to apply once the rules pass or face immediate closure.

Postings beyond spas

The draft requires the State Department’s Know Your Rights pamphlet in each employee’s primary language. That section applies to “any place of employment” considered a common site of human trafficking and names hotels, nail salons, restaurants, bars, strip clubs, farm labor camps, construction companies and large factories alongside bodywork businesses.

The board could add business types to that list. Antanavica’s presentation discussed the postings only for bodywork businesses.

Board questions

Board member Patrick Lowe asked what help people identified as trafficking victims would receive. Antanavica said his department is setting protocols with community partners and police but has no written plan yet.

“We don’t just walk in and go, oh, you’re saved. Go in peace. That’s not how this works,” he said.

Lowe also asked staff to consider a general sanitation and safety credential, similar to ServSafe in food and alcohol service. Board member Michael Perotto asked about capping the number of businesses.

“I don’t know how we can cap something when we don’t know the full aspect of what it is,” Antanavica said.

Chair Frances Anthes compared the plan to the state’s earlier use of licensing to bring sham massage parlors in line with the law.

Next steps

The city Law Department is reviewing the draft. Antanavica said staff hope to release a final version for public comment in January, seek a board vote in February and put the rules into effect in March.

He plans to return at the board’s next meeting, Monday, Dec. 14. Public hearing notices appear on the Board of Health website.

Festival of Lights returns to Worcester Common Friday, Dec. 4

Worcester’s Festival of Lights returns to the Worcester Common on Friday, Dec. 4, with a tree lighting around 6 p.m. and free skating on the Oval. The family event runs from 4:30 to 9 p.m. and costs nothing to attend, the city announced.

The festival marks the first night of the city’s winter lighting installation on the Common. This year’s display includes a colorful, interactive fabric lantern that young people at RICE MA made.

“We look forward to welcoming families to the Common every year for an evening of celebration, connection, and holiday cheer as we kick off this special time of year,” City Manager Eric D. Batista said.

New England singer-songwriter Sarah Louise French headlines the evening with music rooted in folk and country storytelling. Dan Gabel, a trombonist, vocalist, arranger and educator, will lead a 12-piece band backing her on holiday favorites reworked through music from cultures around the world.

Local school and community groups will perform throughout the night, including Burncoat High School Quadrivium, JoAnn Warren Studios, May Street School, the Midland Street Elementary Youth Choir and RICE MA, and the South High Choir.

More than 15 food vendors and a beer tent will set up on the Common. Santa will make an appearance, and roving circus performers and fire performers will entertain the crowd. Face painting and tables from community organizations fill out the program.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and DCU/Legends Global sponsor free skating on the Worcester Common Oval during the festival. Skaters can bring their own skates or rent a pair for $6.

The Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Sq., will stay open until 8:30 p.m. The library plans a hot cocoa station, small family crafts and giveaways, plus a family photo area and a Friends of the Library holiday pop-up sale.

Road closures and parking

The city will close Franklin and Front streets starting at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, followed by Main and Church streets at 2 p.m.

Starting at 2 p.m., drivers can park for free at the Pearl-Elm Garage, 24 Pearl St., and at the McGrath Parking Lot next to the library. Standard and event rates apply at all other municipal lots, garages and metered spaces.

More holiday events

The festival opens a weekend of holiday programming across the city, and more events continue through the season.

• The Worcester Holiday Market fills the Mercantile Center from Thursday, Dec. 3, through Sunday, Dec. 6. Pulse Magazine organizes the new market, which also runs Nov. 19-22.
• Night Lights: Fantastical Forest lights up New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston daily from 4 to 10 p.m. through Jan. 3, 2027.
• The Hanover Theatre stages its 19th annual production of “A Christmas Carol” Dec. 17-23.

UMass Memorial among highest-paid primary care providers in state

UMass Memorial Health receives some of the highest commercial insurance rates for primary care in Massachusetts. A network that includes two Worcester community health centers receives the lowest, according to a report Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell released Tuesday, Nov. 10.

The 2026 health care cost trends report looks at how commercial insurers paid primary care providers in 2024. It found that insurers pay different providers different rates for the same services. Payments made outside of individual claims make those gaps wider.

“Primary care is the foundation of a strong health care system,” Campbell said in an announcement of the report. She said the state must deal with funding disparities and make sure new investments reach the providers and communities that need them most.

How the 10 providers ranked

The attorney general’s office studied 10 provider organizations. For each one, it compared the contracted primary care rate, averaged across the insurers in the study, with Medicare’s 2024 fee schedule for Massachusetts. Rates ranged from 127% to 244% of Medicare:

1. Mass General Brigham: 244%
2. UMass Memorial Health: 222%
3. South Shore Health: 207%
4. Tufts Medicine: 188%
5. Optum, including Atrius Health and Worcester-based Reliant Medical Group: 184% (tie)
6. Beth Israel Lahey Health: 184% (tie)
7. Cape Cod Healthcare: 180%
8. Southcoast Health: 171%
9. Signature Healthcare: 169%
10. Community Care Cooperative: 127%

Federally qualified health centers run Community Care Cooperative, known as C3, a MassHealth accountable care organization. Its member health centers include Family Health Center of Worcester and Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center. The report lists one rate for C3 as a whole, not separate rates for its health centers.

C3 and Signature serve a larger share of Medicaid patients, the report found. For C3’s payer mix, the report used figures from Upham’s Corner Health Committee, a Boston member, as a stand-in. The report said the providers with the lowest commercial rates generally treat the most public-payer patients and provide the most uncompensated care.

Large systems collect most supplemental payments

Insurers also send providers supplemental payments that aren’t tied to a specific claim, such as incentive or infrastructure payments. Commercial payers spent $489 million on these payments in 2024. Core fee-for-service primary care payments came to $1.6 billion.

A few large systems collected most of that money. Optum, the parent of Reliant, led with $115.1 million. Tufts Medicine received $76.2 million, Mass General Brigham $71.8 million, Steward $65.2 million and Beth Israel Lahey Health $54.7 million.

Provider organizations decide how much of that money goes to their primary care doctors. One organization told the attorney general’s office it passed none of its supplemental payments to primary care providers. The other nine estimated they sent 22% to 48% to primary care.

When the office added those estimates to base rates, payment gaps grew. Providers with more Medicaid patients fell further behind the rest of the market.

Self-insured plans

At one large commercial insurer, members of self-insured plans accounted for 64% of primary care visits. Large employers usually sponsor these plans, and the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, regulates them.

Recommendations

The attorney general’s office recommended that the state:

• Direct new money toward expanding advanced primary care statewide, with attention to payment gaps, public payer mix and support for independent practices.
• Track access to primary and specialty care by payer type and region.
• Collect better market-wide data on supplemental payments and how they support primary care.
• Look for ways to bring self-insured employers into statewide primary care efforts.
• Keep new primary care spending within the state’s health care cost growth benchmark without making payment gaps worse.

State efforts on primary care spending

The report comes as state leaders work to increase primary care spending. Gov. Maura Healey signed Executive Order 657 on Monday, Aug. 3. It directs MassHealth to spend 12% of its total medical expenses on primary care by Dec. 31, 2028.

Lawmakers created the Primary Care Access, Delivery and Payment Task Force under Chapter 343 of the Acts of 2024. The task force recommended a statewide primary care spending target of at least 15% of total health care spending, kept within the cost growth benchmark. The Health Policy Commission published the task force’s compendium report in September.

The report also said federal funding for safety net providers faces significant cuts.

The office has published earlier cost trends reports on medical debt, ambulance billing and health status adjustment.

Massachusetts, Nova Scotia seek input on offshore wind power for New England

Massachusetts and Nova Scotia want offshore wind developers, utilities and other groups to weigh in on how wind farms off the Canadian province could send electricity to New England.

The Healey-Driscoll administration and the Nova Scotia Department of Energy issued a request for information on Nova Scotia offshore wind Thursday, Nov. 12. Responses are due by 5 p.m. Eastern time Thursday, Dec. 31.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper announced the effort at the New England-Canadian Business Council’s annual energy conference in Boston. Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont joined Massachusetts in issuing the document.

“We need more affordable, reliable energy, and that’s going to take working with our neighbors,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement announcing the request. “We’re excited to take this next step together.”

The request builds on a memorandum of understanding Healey and Houston signed in February. That agreement commits the two governments to cooperate on transmission planning, workforce development, port investments and supply chains.

What the states want to know

The document poses 54 questions. Twenty-seven focus on delivering power to New England, and the rest cover wind generation and shared issues such as ports and workforce.

It outlines two main delivery routes. One would run a direct undersea high-voltage cable from Nova Scotia to a connection point in New England. The other would move power through New Brunswick, Quebec or both, over existing transmission lines or new and upgraded ones. Respondents may also propose other approaches.

As an example of project scale, the request describes a single block of 1,200 megawatts or more carried over one cable link. It also notes that the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator is preparing a call for bids for licenses to submerged land in Nova Scotia waters.

Houston said Nova Scotia “has some of the strongest offshore wind resources in the world.” He called the request “an important step in understanding how we can work together to realize that potential.”

Who can respond

The states and province invite responses from developers, port and supply chain businesses, utilities, grid operators, labor organizations, universities and research groups, environmental and fishing interests, and tribal and First Nations groups.

Submissions may run up to 15 pages, plus attachments, and must go by email to officials in both Massachusetts and Nova Scotia. The request document lists the addresses and formatting rules.

Chris Kearns, acting commissioner of the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, said the responses should help clarify the infrastructure, costs and regulatory steps involved in bringing Nova Scotia power to New England.

“Our partnership with Nova Scotia is poised to unlock real savings and economic development for the Atlantic Coast,” said Elizabeth Mahony, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.

Massachusetts already has one operating offshore wind farm. The 572-megawatt Vineyard Wind 1 project began producing power in January 2025, according to the state.

Rent-to-own firm Acima to forgive $10.7M in Mass. leases

Massachusetts customers of rent-to-own company Acima will receive more than $11 million in lease forgiveness and restitution under a multistate settlement that Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced Thursday, Nov. 12.

Acima Digital LLC and its parent, Acima Holdings LLC, agreed to provide $183.5 million nationwide to resolve allegations that the company misled shoppers about the cost and terms of its rental-purchase agreements. Campbell joined 42 other state attorneys general in the deal, according to her office’s announcement.

In Massachusetts, Acima will forgive $10.7 million in lease-to-own balances and pay $830,000 in restitution to consumers. The company will also pay $163,000 to the state.

Nationally, the settlement includes $130 million in lease balance reductions, $43 million in consumer restitution and $10.5 million in payments to the states.

What the states alleged

Acima partners with retailers to offer rental-purchase agreements at checkout. The attorneys general said the company marketed those agreements as “90-day pay off programs” while defaulting customers into 12-month terms, under which they could end up paying about twice the advertised cash price.

The states also accused Acima of using the word “credit” in ways that led customers to believe they had signed up for traditional financing. They said Acima marked up merchandise above the retailer’s price, obscured contract terms during electronic signing and made it harder for customers to end agreements by returning items without penalty.

“When consumers trust companies like Acima, they deserve to know that they won’t be misled about the terms of their purchase,” Campbell said in a statement.

Acima denies wrongdoing. The consent judgment, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, states that the company admits no liability.

What customers should do

Consumers do not need to take action now, the attorney general’s office said. A settlement administrator will contact people eligible for restitution and explain how to file a claim. Acima will notify customers who qualify for lease forgiveness, by email or by mail if the company has no email address on file.

The lease balance reductions apply to accounts Acima charged off on or before Dec. 31, 2025, for agreements signed on or after Jan. 1, 2022, according to the judgment.

The settlement also bars Acima from marking up cash prices and requires the company to train its retail partners. For five years, Acima may not report rental-purchase agreements to the three major credit reporting agencies.

Earlier actions against Acima

The District of Columbia reached a separate $4 million settlement with Acima in July. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the company in August 2024, alleging it deceived more than 100,000 New Yorkers.

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed its own lawsuit against Acima in July 2024, then dropped the case in March 2025.

The Acima deal follows a $7.8 million settlement Campbell’s office reached in May with another lease-to-own company, American First Finance.

Residents with questions can call the attorney general’s office at 617-727-2200.

Worcester among two districts statewide to win top biliteracy award

Worcester Public Schools earned the state’s highest district honor tied to the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy, one of only two districts to receive the new Platinum Star Award.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced the awards Monday, Nov. 9, honoring 55 districts for their work with the seal. Boston Public Schools joined Worcester as the only other Platinum Star recipient.

Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez presented the award to Jessica Mandes, the district’s director of multilingual education, and Michelle Huaman, its world language curriculum specialist. Mandes and Huaman accepted it on behalf of the district.

“The Worcester Public Schools remains committed to supporting students with earning the Seal of Biliteracy,” Superintendent Brian E. Allen said. “Being fluent in more than one language is a true gift that opens the door to a lifetime of additional opportunities, while promoting cultural inclusivity. We are grateful that DESE and Commissioner Martinez are recognizing our staff and students for their efforts.”

What the award measures

The state began awarding the State Seal of Biliteracy in 2019 to recognize high school graduates who show proficiency in English and at least one other language. Graduates who earn it receive a designation on their high school transcript. Statewide, 4,793 students earned the seal in 2025, according to the state’s high school graduation requirements recommendations.

This year marks the first time the department has recognized districts for both the number of graduates earning the seal and their efforts to make it accessible to students of all backgrounds and abilities. The awards rely on data from the 2024-25 school year.

To reach Platinum Star status, a district needed at least 200 students or 30% of its graduating class to earn the seal while also meeting three equity benchmarks. Those benchmarks track how often the seal goes to current English learners, students who recently exited English learner status, students who were ever English learners and students with disabilities.

Worcester earned commendations for seal attainment among current, former and “ever” English learners.

The department also handed out Gold Star and Star awards to districts that met lower thresholds, along with separate commendations for districts that widened access for career and technical education students and students with disabilities.

“The recognized districts have made a sustained effort to increase access to the Seal of Biliteracy so that more students have the opportunity to display their skills,” Martinez said.

School coordinators

WPS credited the school-based coordinators who run the program: Ofelia Maskewich at North High, Jailene Muñoz at South High, Araceli Esqueda at Doherty High, Adriana Perez Sabido at Burncoat High, Monica Echevarria at Claremont Academy and Yenilda Melendez at Worcester Technical High. Huaman coordinates the program districtwide and for alternative schools.

Pilot would let 10 veteran medics give medications in Mass. hospitals

Ten veterans who served as military medics could soon give certain medications to patients in Massachusetts hospitals under a pilot program the Healey-Driscoll administration announced Tuesday, Nov. 10.

The Department of Public Health and the Executive Office of Veterans Services presented the program, called Military to Medicine, at the Public Health Council meeting that day. The state plans to release the proposed regulations for public comment as part of its review process, according to the governor’s office. The announcement set no dates for the comment period.

Under the proposal, the 10 veterans would work at participating DPH-licensed hospitals, with DPH approval, and perform certain medication administration duties. The pilot leaves the state’s broader professional licensing and scope-of-practice rules unchanged.

Thousands of service members leave the military each year, among them medics and hospital corpsmen with extensive hands-on training. That experience does not automatically qualify them for comparable civilian jobs, so many veterans pursue extra credentials or leave medicine, according to the release.

“Military medics have some of the most extensive training and experience in health care, often serving under incredibly challenging circumstances. But when they return home, too many face barriers to putting those skills to work,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.

Veterans Services Secretary Eric Goralnick called Military to Medicine “a novel program that builds on a proven Veterans Health Administration model to turn that experience into civilian health care careers.”

Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein said the program “has the potential to strengthen the state’s healthcare workforce and support continued access to safe, high-quality patient care.”

Heather Meehan, a former Navy hospital corpsman, said she provided care in cardiac intensive care, intensive care and medical-surgical units, then learned she qualified only as a certified nursing assistant. She later heard she was “overqualified for that role,” she said.

If the state approves the pilot, the Executive Office of Veterans Services would study how military medical experience carries over to civilian health care jobs and whether the program helps hospitals recruit and keep skilled workers.

State Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, who chairs the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, said he supports the effort and that it keeps “appropriate safeguards for patient safety.”

Lawmakers have filed bills on the same idea in every legislative session since at least 2017. The current version, House Bill 2365, filed by Rep. Bruce Ayers, D-Quincy, would let military medical personnel perform certain delegated medical tasks under a licensed physician’s supervision.

The pilot joins other state efforts aimed at veterans’ employment. The HERO Act, which Healey signed in 2024, expanded the Vet-Hire Tax Credit for small businesses that hire veterans. In July, the administration eliminated apprenticeship registration renewal fees for veterans.

Man charged with armed assault with intent to murder after Worcester stabbing

Worcester police charged a man with armed assault with intent to murder after a stabbing early Tuesday, Nov. 10, left a woman in critical condition.

Police and emergency crews went to a home at about 5:40 a.m. after a report that someone had stabbed a woman, according to a Worcester Police Department press release. Crews took the woman, who had life-threatening injuries, to a local hospital. She remained in critical condition when the department issued the release later that day.

Officers quickly identified a potential suspect, who fled in a vehicle. The search took investigators into Auburn and Milford.

At about 2 p.m., Milford police received an alert from the department’s Flock license plate reader system. The alert led officers to the suspect’s vehicle, and they took the man into custody. Milford police later turned him over to Worcester police.

Police did not identify the man or the woman or say where the stabbing happened. The release also did not say when the man would appear in court.

“Due to the domestic nature of this incident, no further information is being released at this time,” the department said.

Worcester police thanked Massachusetts State Police, Auburn police and Milford police for their help with the investigation. The department also credited the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, along with the city’s fire department and EMS.

Anyone affected by domestic or dating violence can call SafeLink, the state’s free 24/7 domestic violence hotline, at 877-785-2020. Deaf and hard-of-hearing callers can dial 711 to use MassRelay. In an emergency, call 911.

To Keep WAMS, Worcester Should Put Magnets Back on the Menu

by Cara Berg Powers, Ed.D.,

If, like me, you went to the Worcester Public Schools in the 1980s and 90s, chances are pretty high that you had the opportunity to go to a citywide magnet school- schools with extended learning time grants, project-based learning, arts, science, and technology themes, and the explicit goal to break apart the racial and economic isolation that still exists today in many of our neighborhoods. Many of us that went to those magnet schools in the 1990s will remember how often our learning was described as building, “21st century skills.” They weren’t perfect, but they did prepare us for the diverse world we live in as adults. Yet, here we are a quarter into the 21st century, and our kids don’t have the same opportunities. Our schools are as segregated as they were before many of us even began school.

Right now, we have a historic opportunity to recommit to that 21st century vision, and prepare Worcester Public School students to lead into that future. With the School Boundary and Quadrant Alignment Project that is currently underway in the Worcester Public Schools, the question of how we organize about 25,000 kids into school buildings and communities is being asked for the first time in most people’s memory. So far, none of the plans that are being considered have proposed more equitable and inclusive schools, schools like the ones many of us grew up with. It’s not too late though- the district and consultants are RIGHT NOW finalizing the scenarios that the school committee will vote on, and you can still make your voice heard.

To that end, Saturday afternoon about 40 parents, educators, students, and representatives from the Worcester Public Schools gathered in the dimly lit auditorium of Goddard School of Science for the last of what has been months of community listening sessions about the alignment project. Goddard’s 125 year old building, originally home to South High School, is at the center of the major questions about how a district of the size and diversity of Worcester can equitably reimagine how our school buildings and communities will serve all of our kids. Built for a different time and bigger kids, educators have expressed concern about adding additional Pre-K spots to this already stretched school. 

In addition to the educators from Goddard that shared their concerns, over a dozen parents, educators, and even students from the Worcester Arts Magnet School spoke about their continued concern that moving the magnet program to a different building would harm the program and the results that it has produced. To anyone who has been following this process, this comes as no surprise. In fact, after the first plan recommended moving WAMS in order to accommodate anticipated growth in the neighborhood’s student population, the outcry was so swift and severe, that it was completely scrapped in the second plan.

Worcester Arts Middle Schools (WAMS) is an important example today of what could be: the student population at WAMS is a much lower proportion of high need students than the district overall. At about 57%, it’s significantly lower than the district’s 80% average, and about 40% lower than a school like Chandler Elementary, which is about 97%. It’s also almost 20% higher than Flagg Street, which has only about 40% high need students, and only 23% English Language Learners, compared to the District average of over 50%. Which is what a lot of the district looks like- either much higher or lower than the average, WAMS is unique in that it is somewhat in the middle.

One of the educators who spoke on Saturday at the community input session explained how this middle is possible: in 1992, WAMS opened as one of WPS’ many district magnet schools, designed to serve a combination of students from Lincoln Village, Burncoat’s single family neighborhood, and citywide open enrollment. To this day, WAMS is one of the most diverse schools in the district, and this mix of students is part of what makes possible the magic that so many students, parents, and educators have fought to defend. What some may not realize is that the same year, 1992, that WAMS opened, so did the Goddard School for Science and Technology, one of several district magnets at the time, that were created, beginning in 1975, to address the racial isolation and concentrated poverty in our incredibly diverse district. In 1990, almost 40% of incoming kindergarten students went to schools outside of their neighborhoods.

The marks of these attempts are all over our district. Schools that haven’t operated as magnets in decades still called that, or bearing the name of previous thematic schoolwork that inspired students in the 1990s, like Goddard. Just a few blocks away, Claremont Academy and Woodland Academy share a building that was built in the late 1990s to house and bring together a K-12 citywide magnet, global studies themed, project-based learning school where Woodland Street Community School had once been.

As a 2001 graduate of that school, the Accelerated Learning Laboratory, it’s pretty heartbreaking to see the way that prior disinvestment by our school district in the goals of integration, equity, and student-centered learning have been tossed away as the district moved that building back to “neighborhood” status, limiting attendance to those who live within a short distance from the building, and further isolating the high- need students that the school was created to integrate. In 1994, as a kid from Main South, I had access to a more diverse and specialized education because the city decided to invest in my neighborhood and bring kids from all over the city there to learn together. Now, a kid living on the same street I grew up on has far fewer opportunities. Not only is there no longer an integrated, project-based learning school in walking distance, they also don’t have the chance to go to school with kids outside their neighborhood at the comprehensive middle and high school they would have been districted to prior to the magnet opening.

One Woodland Academy parent shared her frustrations at a listening session at Vernon Hill School last month, noting that it seemed like schools in single family zoned neighborhoods, closer to the suburbs, have more access to playgrounds and other higher quality facilities. She shared that she had to “armor” her daughter in pants for school because wearing a skirt, she would risk injury from the small pavement lot that students there have to play in.

It does not have to be this way. We do not have to continue to accept segregation in our public schools, and the current work the district is doing to rethink school assignment lines and policies is an opportunity to turn the tide.  

If we keep WAMS, but also keep the rest of the status quo – in which most of our district is neighborhood schools only – it will harm all of our kids and continue to perpetuate the dangerous false idea that we must choose equitable or excellent schools. WAMS parents and educators have called WAMS a model. It can be just that, if we have the courage to care enough about all of our kids to invest in a future that expands all of their horizons. We can commit to a long-term plan to redesignate many of our previous magnet schools, and engage communities in identifying and planning learning themes, like additional art and dual language schools, as well as science and technology, project-based learning, and even civics themed schools. We have a generational opportunity to course correct.

Imagine if when you registered your child for kindergarten, you could opt into a lottery not just for WAMS and Worcester Dual Language, but for an assortment of high quality, integrated programs around the city. That whether or not you got into one of these programs didn’t feel existential because by better distributing the needs and bringing community together, we made it more cost effective and easier to make every school great. This is a choice we can make right now. We can ask the district to ensure that at least one of the options they consider to vote on includes a plan to better serve all of our kids. 

We can and must do better, for all of our future kids. If we truly believe that WAMS is a special school worth saving, let’s rebuild the district that made it possible, starting with at least one themed, elementary school magnet in each quadrant. We don’t have to choose between excellent or equitable schools. We can ensure that all of our kids have access to both. Email your school committee members, the Mayor, and the alignment project consultants, to ask them to give equity a chance.

Kraft Group, Unified propose $16 billion data center campus in Sutton

Unified Global Packaging Group and The Kraft Group have proposed a 10-building data center campus in Sutton that would draw about 900 megawatts of power at full build-out, according to a memo Town Manager Austin Cyganiewicz wrote to the Select Board.

The board scheduled a review of the proposal for its meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10, according to the meeting agenda. In the memo, dated Monday, Nov. 9, Cyganiewicz called the plan tentative. The developer has filed no application and has yet to give the town details on power, water, equipment and site impacts.

The developer puts the full campus at more than $16 billion in private investment. All taxable property in Sutton carries an assessed value of about $2.85 billion today.

What the developer wants to build

The campus would sit on Unified’s Unified Parkway property off Boston Road and Providence Road. Major electric transmission lines cross the land, including a 345-kilovolt line that runs from Millbury to West Farnum.

The first phase calls for two buildings of about 250,000 square feet each, drawing roughly 90 megawatts apiece and opening in 2029. The developer’s financial analysis assumes eight more buildings of the same size, opening two per year from 2030 through 2033.

The developer values each building at about $675 million in real property, mostly electrical, cooling and generator systems, plus about $1 billion in computer equipment. The operator told the town it has opened talks with ISO New England, the regional grid operator, to secure power and plans to explore reclaimed water for cooling.

Town projects lower tax bills

Town staff built their estimates on values well below the developer’s figures, assuming about $250 million per building for the structure and land plus about $560 million in fast-depreciating server equipment. That puts first-year taxable value at about $586 million per building, roughly a third of the developer’s number.

Under those assumptions, the first two buildings would pay about $10.4 million a year in property tax once fully assessed in fiscal 2031. With all 10 buildings on the rolls in fiscal 2035, the annual bill would reach about $27.8 million. Sutton’s entire tax levy for fiscal 2027 totals about $32 million.

Construction would also bring an estimated $31 million in one-time building permit fees. Cyganiewicz recommended putting that money toward capital needs and reserves or paying down long-term obligations such as debt and pensions.

Because Sutton raises only what its budget requires, a larger tax base spreads the same costs across more value. Staff estimates the first phase would drop the fiscal 2031 tax rate to $8.83 per $1,000 of assessed value, compared with $11.78 without the project. The full campus could push the rate to about $5.68 by fiscal 2035, compared with $12.05.

For the average single-family home, now assessed at $662,769, the fiscal 2031 bill would fall to about $6,846 from a projected $9,134. With the full campus, the average homeowner would pay about $5,800 less in fiscal 2035.

The town model does not yet put a dollar figure on new municipal costs, such as public safety training and equipment or road wear during construction. It also assumes the developer pays full property tax. Unified already holds a 15-year tax-increment financing agreement with Sutton worth about $46.1 million for its $475 million industrial expansion on the same property, the Worcester Business Journal reported. The memo does not say whether the developer would seek a tax break for the data center.

Budget gap ahead

Sutton’s Multi-Year Financial Plan projects a structural gap that grows from about $300,000 in fiscal 2028 to $9.1 million in fiscal 2033. Education costs rising 5.5% to 8% a year and benefits and insurance climbing about 10% a year drive the gap, while revenue grows about 2%.

Data center revenue would arrive too late for fiscal 2028 or 2029, so the town would still need another source for those years. Starting in fiscal 2031, the memo says, the gap would close and leave Sutton with about $10 million in unused levy capacity, growing to about $26 million by fiscal 2033.

New state rules apply

Gov. Maura Healey signed Executive Order 658 on Tuesday, Sept. 8, setting requirements for new data centers with peak demand above 25 megawatts. State permitting agencies may not issue permits until a developer shows the project conforms with the state’s data center framework and submits a community benefits agreement reviewed by the state Office of Environmental Justice and Equity.

“Under Governor Healey’s Executive Order, if a data center doesn’t have local approval, state permitting agencies will not advance the project,” the governor’s office said in a news release.

The order also requires data centers to buy enough new clean electricity to match their annual use or pay into a new Ratepayer Protection Fund that would lower supply costs for all electric customers. The state has until Dec. 31 to set up the fund’s payment mechanism and publish guidance for municipalities.

What comes next

The memo names a community benefits agreement and a zoning bylaw as the town’s two main tools. Because state permits now depend on an agreement, Cyganiewicz wrote, the town would hold “meaningful leverage.” He added that the town would make any terms public before Town Meeting acted.

Sutton’s zoning bylaws do not address data centers. An amendment would define the use, allow it only by special permit in a suitable district or overlay, and set standards for issues including noise, water use, traffic and decommissioning. It would require a Planning Board hearing and a two-thirds Town Meeting vote.

If Sutton pursues the project, the agreement, the bylaw and an independent technical review would move forward together over the next six months, according to the memo.