Statement from the Select Board on Feb 8th:

On January 28th, a racial incident occurred at the Westford Academy girls’ basketball team. While that investigation is ongoing, we join Dr. Chew and Principal Antonelli in condemning the racist hurtful and hateful language used and heard. Such behavior cannot be tolerated, and the SB wants to apologize to the victim of that incident. Clearly there’s work to be done here in Westford. More than a year ago, the Select Board established the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Part of the charge to that committee was to identify needs around fostering acceptance and valuing diversity, and to discourage prejudice and discrimination against any person or group on account of their race, creed, color, income, religion, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, age, or disability. Tonight, the Select Board affirmatively and strongly restates its charge to the DEI Committee and its commitment to that committee’s long-term work throughout the town and schools to foster, encourage, and embrace diversity in our town.