Marlborough School Committee tables bullying policy, approves nine others

MARLBOROUGH -- August 30, 2022, Marlborough opens school year short 65 staff and eight bus drivers. Superintendent Mary Murphy told the School Committee Tuesday that the district has 65 open positions including 16 behavior technicians and 24 paraeducators, with kindergarten enrollment approaching 400. Director of Finance and Operations Doug Dias said NRT, the district's bus contractor, lost four drivers in two weeks, leaving eight of 33 routes without a permanent driver; four afternoon runs will not operate, with affected families offered a 4 p.m. late bus through September. "While we are 25 percent short on our bus drivers, we're able to run 93 percent of our runs tomorrow without interruption," Dias said. The committee tabled the bullying prevention policy at the urging of member Stephen Caruso and public commenter Kelly Macchioli, approved nine other policies, and learned the district secured a 95.7 percent USDA reimbursement rate through FY26.