District overview
Westfield Public Schools
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
Who runs Westfield's schools?
Westfield Public Schools is governed by a seven-member School Committee. Six seats are filled by citywide election. The seventh seat, and the chair, belongs to whoever holds the office of Mayor — Michael McCabe served as both Mayor and Committee Chairman throughout the 2025-26 school year, opening every meeting and casting a vote alongside the elected members. A separate elected clerk keeps the record and a superintendent, hired by the committee, runs day-to-day operations.
The Mayor chairs the committee by virtue of the office
Michael McCabe ran meetings as Chairman and separately gave a "Mayor's update" at most meetings — the same person filling both roles.
Six members are elected citywide
Two long-serving members, Heather Sullivan and Tim O'Connor, left the committee at the end of 2025 after new members were elected; the committee thanked them at the December 15, 2025 meeting.
Regular meetings run twice a month
The committee usually meets the first and third Monday at City Hall, with added special meetings for budget review and joint sessions with the Westfield Technical Academy advisory council.
A superintendent handles daily operations
Stefan Czaporowski serves as Superintendent of Schools. The committee approves his yearly goals each August and evaluates his performance each June.
The Mayor chairing the board does not mean decisions are made informally. Every meeting follows a fixed cycle of financial statements, warrant reports, and standing subcommittees (Human Resources & Policy, Facilities/Capital Planning, Curriculum, Finance) that review issues before they reach a public vote.
Where the district stands
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education district profile, 2025-26.
Massachusetts DESE district finance profile. This is district-wide spending, not a single school's budget, and it is not derived from any document this page collected.
Major projects
Westfield Technical Academy building project
Very early stage: a Statement of Interest was filed with the state; no project has been approvedIn March 2026 the committee took up a Statement of Interest asking the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to consider a building project at Westfield Technical Academy. Filing a Statement of Interest is the first step in a state process that can lead to a funded feasibility study and eventually construction, but MSBA has not yet decided whether to accept Westfield into its program.
- MSBA Statement of Interest for Westfield Technical Academy on the committee agenda
Funding
Not yet determined. MSBA-approved building projects are typically funded through a mix of state reimbursement and local city funding.
FY2026-2027 school budget
Proposed and reviewed; adopted total not confirmed in the collected recordThe superintendent presented a proposed FY2027 budget on April 6, 2026, and the committee reviewed it line by line at a special meeting on April 13, 2026. A budget vote was on the agenda for May 4, 2026, but no approved minutes for that meeting are in the collected record, so the adopted total and the vote result are not confirmed.
- FY2027 proposed budget presented
- Special meeting to review the FY2027 budget in detail
- FY2027 budget vote on the agenda
Funding
City of Westfield appropriation plus Massachusetts Chapter 70 state aid, the standard funding mix for a Massachusetts municipal school district.
Westfield High School cellphone pilot
Piloting; results not yet publishedWestfield High School began piloting a new cellphone protocol, introduced on the January 5, 2026 agenda, with a progress update listed on the June 15, 2026 agenda. The specific rules of the pilot are not described in any collected document.
- Pilot cellphone protocol introduced
- Pilot update on the agenda
Funding
No new funding identified in the collected record.
Every agenda and minutes file the City of Westfield posted for the School Committee category (AgendaCenter category 34) from August 18, 2025 through August 18, 2026 was downloaded and reviewed. Enrollment and per-pupil spending figures come from the state's public DESE district profile, not from a document this page collected.
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