NEWBURYPORT — Incoming senior Michael Cuneo has lived and attended school in Newburyport since he was in kindergarten, and like all future graduates, the enormity of the transition he's about to make is looming large for him this summer.
But unfortunately for Cuneo, Newburyport High School recently let him know he would have to finish his remaining year at Triton Regional High School, thanks to a strict district policy that takes a no-exceptions approach to students whose parents move out of district during a child's school career.
After being denied by Superintendent Kevin Lyons, School Committee member Gordon Bechtel, Principal Michael Parent and Mayor John Moak — who Cuneo's parents said informed them their situation wasn't important enough to warrant a hearing with the School Committee — the couple was given cause for hope last night when the committee voted to try to help their son.
Garry and Lynn Cuneo weren't on last night's agenda, but they came before the committee during the public conversation period to make one final appeal.
"Michael knows no other school district," Garry Cuneo told the committee last night, describing his son as a quiet, reserved teen with a small circle of friends he's made over a long period of time. "He's very excited about his senior year. It's the first time I've ever seen him so excited about class rings, graduation, etc. ... "
The Cuneos were forced to look for alternative housing this spring when their landlord announced plans to sell the family's rental home, and though they sought to find something in town that was comparable and would accept the family pet, they couldn't find anything suitable in Newburyport and were forced to look in Newbury.
Before signing the lease on the house in Newbury, they placed a call to Newburyport High, where office personnel told them moving to Newbury wouldn't complicate Michael's final school year, Garry Cuneo said.
As it turned out, that front office staffer was wrong.
"We learned we didn't speak to the right person," Cuneo said. "But we didn't know it was the wrong person."
What followed was an anxious few weeks writing impassioned letters and making phone call appeals to local leaders and legislators, none of which seemed to engender any sympathy. But that all changed last night.
"I think you make a very compelling case," committee member Nick deKanter told the Cuneos last night, adding that while there are no guarantees, and there are limits to what the school can lawfully do to help students like their son, he was inclined to look for a way.
"Clearly as a School Committee, one of the things we always keep in the forefront of our mind is that we firmly believe whatever we do is in the best interest of children," he said. "There are no guarantees, but there are things that can be done."
DeKanter's sentiments were echoed by member Steve Cole, who responded passionately to questions from Moak on the legality of opening a school-choice lottery for high school seniors in order to potentially benefit students like Michael.
"I can't see kids from other school districts banging down the doors so their kids can attend their senior years here," Cole said. "I just don't see it."
"You don't know what we can do," Moak said to Cole, in reference to the legal questions surrounding the issue.
"We did it last year two weeks before school started," replied Cole, who was joined by deKanter in describing a precedent set last year to allow a student in a similar situation to graduate at NHS.
Cole and deKanter's position was supported by longtime School Committee member Bruce Menin, who remarked that he would like to see a long-term policy put in place to help the handful of students negatively affected by the district's policy and uprooted in the midst of a successful school year in the Newburyport school system.
"It's hard for me to get my arms around a system that doesn't provide the leeway for a student who has spent his whole life in the district to finish in the district," Menin said. "There's gotta be a better way to do this."
His feelings were echoed by Stephanie Weaver and Dana Hooper, with Hooper questioning whether it was a responsible practice to harm a student the district has formerly taken the responsibility for educating.
"Isn't it irresponsible?" asked Hooper, considering the detrimental effect it could have on a student. "It's so absurd," she said. "We should find a way."
The only way committee members could identify last night was the option of opening choice up to students in the 12th grade, a move that doesn't guarantee Michael Cuneo will march under the arch of roses next June, since he'll have to participate in the lottery system as mandated under state law.
The committee's unanimous vote last night to open choice to the 12th grade is one that still leaves the ultimate decision on how many positions will be opened to the school superintendent and high school principal.
But the hope instilled by the committee's action was a step forward in what's been an anxious period for Cuneo and his parents. While he didn't get a guarantee, the action of the committee at least offered a glimmer of hope, and that was enough for his parents.
"We want him to finish strong," Garry Cuneo said. "Graduation from high school should be a shining moment, not a disappointment."
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