Library Board Asks for Written Plan Before Reopening to Unsupervised Middle Schoolers

SHREWSBURY — April 28, 2026 — Shrewsbury Library trustees defer decision on restoring unsupervised middle school access, seek written proposal. Sherwood Middle School Principal John Kelly appeared at the April 28 Board of Library Trustees meeting to argue that student behavior has improved enough since a 2023 policy change — which required fifth and sixth graders to be accompanied by a guardian — to warrant reopening the library to independent visits, citing the district's two-year rollout of PBIS, a K-12 positive behavior program. Youth Services Librarian Kaylee Haver outlined a proposed soft rollout limited to Monday through Thursday, excluding high-traffic Fridays and half-days, with high school volunteers serving as behavioral role models in the teen room. Trustees pressed on safety liability, parking-lot incidents, and accountability before Chair Lisa Powers called time and asked Haver and King to submit a written proposal for a future meeting. In other votes, the board unanimously approved use of up to $10,000 in state aid for end-of-year expenses, removed a Congregational Church overflow parking line from its meeting room policy after the church objected, and approved a League of Women Voters request to sell copies of Lindsay Cormack's "How to Raise a Citizen" at a June 20 event. Library Director Priya Cardoza, who received an average annual review score of 3.59 out of 4.0, reported more than 25,000 library visitors and 33,000 physical loans in March alone.