Town Government
School Committee & Superintendent
First, the Thing That Changes Everything
Holden’s schools belong to five towns at once. In 1954 the town joined what its own history calls the first regional school district in Massachusetts, and it has been part of the Wachusett Regional School District ever since, along with Paxton, Princeton, Rutland and Sterling. Every enrollment count, every dollar of per-pupil spending, every graduation rate and every state figure on this site is the DISTRICT’s, covering all five towns together, and none of it is Holden by itself. That is not a footnote. It is why a school budget argument in Holden is never only about Holden, and why the biggest single number in the town’s own budget is an assessment set by a committee where Holden holds six seats out of sixteen.
The Superintendent
James M. Reilly
About 6,427 students across five towns start their day in this district, and one person answers for all of it. James M. Reilly is the Superintendent of Schools for the Wachusett Regional School District. He proposes the district budget, sets academic priorities, and runs 13 schools day to day, six of them inside Holden. The Superintendent is hired by and reports to the sixteen-member district School Committee, and under the committee’s own bylaws he is the one who calls the annual organizational meeting to order and runs the election of its Chair. Note what the regional structure means for the money: the school budget is the one large piece of Holden spending that the Town Manager does not build and Holden voters do not settle on their own. It comes from the Superintendent to the district committee, and reaches Holden as an assessment.
| Role | Superintendent of Schools, Wachusett Regional School District |
|---|---|
| District office | 1745 Main Street, Jefferson, MA 01522 |
| Phone | (508) 829-1670 |
| Website | wrsd.net |
The School Committee, and Holden’s Six Seats
The Wachusett Regional School District Committee has 16 members, and each of the five towns elects its own on its own town ballot. Holden elects six of them, two or three at a time, to staggered three-year terms. The other ten answer to voters in Paxton, Princeton, Rutland and Sterling, so the committee that sets Holden’s school assessment is elected across five towns, and six of those seats are Holden’s to fill.
The committee reorganizes every spring. At its Organizational Meeting on May 19, 2026, it elected Linda Woodland as Chair and Shannon Poole as Vice-Chair, both by signed paper ballot under chapter 71, section 16A of the General Laws, and both ballots are attached to the approved minutes as public record. Under the committee’s own bylaws the offices run one year, and no member may be elected Chair or Vice-Chair without at least two years already served. Shannon Poole holds one of Holden’s seats. These are the six people Holden voters put on that committee.
Shannon Poole
Jana T. Brennan
William H. Fisher
Maleah FT Gustafson
Meredith C. Pugh
Lauren L. Salmon-Garrett
The full committee roster, its bylaws and the Wachusett Regional School District Agreement are published at wrsd.net.
The District at a Glance
Every figure in this block is the DISTRICT’s, covering Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland and Sterling together.
- Enrollment: 6,427 students, PreK through 12, across five towns.
- Schools: 13 district-wide, including Wachusett Regional High School in Holden.
- Graduation rate: 93.9%, district-wide.
- State data: DESE profile (code 07750000).
Meetings & Participation
- When: regular meetings are held in the Media Center at Wachusett Regional High School, 1401 Main Street in Holden, generally at 7 in the evening. The committee numbers its meetings, and it had reached number 1448 by August 2026.
- Public comment: Public Comment is the second item on the standing agenda, right after the call to order.
- Watch: district meetings are broadcast live by Holden Community Television at holdentv.com.
- Agendas & minutes: the district posts every agenda, every set of approved minutes and the Superintendent’s report for each meeting on its Agendas and Minutes page.
- The assessment: the district votes its budget, and each town’s share arrives as an assessment its own Town Meeting then has to fund. Both rooms are open.
Curious how a bill becomes law, or how students can take on a civics project?