Category Archives: Schools

STM – Sunday, 11/7 at noon at the MHS

Posted on November 1, 2021 | Comments Off on STM – Sunday, 11/7 at noon at the MHS

From the Moderator, Scott McDermott –

Town Meeting Brief #1
Town Meeting Brief #1, by Town Moderator, Scott McDermott

This is the first in a series of Town Meeting Briefs to communicate key information in advance of our important November 7, 2021 Special Town Meeting. In this initial note, we focus on the who, what, where, and when of our upcoming municipal legislative session:

Who may participate in our legislative process? Our Town Charter declares “The Legislative authority of the town shall be vested in the town meeting open to all registered voters.” The invitation to town meeting is extended to (i) all Medfield’s registered voters and (ii) visitors approved by a vote of the meeting to sit within the session as non-voters.
Medfield voters, as friends and neighbors, will come together as a legislative body to vote on an important and highly strategic appropriation. When we do come together, we will be ‘living’ the rare example of direct, democratic and participatory self-government. Medfield has approximately 9,320 registered voters. Our voters are active and engaged citizens with 8,384 voting in the last Presidential election, 528 participating as legislators in the 2021 Annual Town Meeting, and 943 gathering for the 2019 Special Town Meeting to vote on MSH zoning.

WHAT is on the agenda? On October 19, 2021, the Board of Selectmen closed the Warrant. The Warrant is the notice to the voters of the subject matter of the meeting. We have only one ARTICLE on the Warrant and, therefore, the exclusive focus of the meeting will be the elementary school building project. The actual vote at the Special Town Meeting will be on a MOTION tracking the Article. The Motion is offered at the beginning of the meeting by the Warrant Committee or the Article’s sponsor.

WHERE is the meeting? The Special Town Meeting will take place at the Amos Clark Kingsbury High School in the gymnasium and in other venues established throughout the high school campus. Registration will be at the front entrance to the high school and more information on parking and logistics will be provided before the meeting.
Find out what’s happening in Medfield with free, real-time updates from Patch.

Let’s go!

WHEN is the meeting? The Special Town Meeting will begin at 12:00 noon on SUNDAY, November 7th (or as soon as quorum is present).

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Posted in Buildings, Schools, Town Meeting

MSBA approves new school

Posted on October 27, 2021 | 1 comment
Deborah B. Goldberg James A. MacDonald John K. McCarthy Chairman, State Treasurer Chief Executive Officer Executive Director / Deputy CEO 40 Broad Street, Suite 500 ● Boston, MA 02109 ● Phone: 617-720-4466 ● www.MassSchoolBuildings.org October 27, 2021 Mr. Michael Marcucci, Chair Medfield Board of Selectmen 459 Main Street Medfield, MA 02052 Re: Town of Medfield, Dale Street Elementary School Dear Marcucci: I am pleased to report that the Board of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (the “MSBA”) has voted to approve the Dale Street Elementary School Project in the Town of Medfield (the “Town”) to replace the existing Dale Street Elementary School with a new facility serving grades 4-5 on the Wheelock Elementary School site. The Board approved an Estimated Maximum Total Facilities Grant of $19,165,418, which does not include any funds for Potentially Eligible Owner’s or Construction Contingency Expenditures. In the event that the MSBA determines that any Owner’s and/or Construction Contingency Expenditures are eligible for reimbursement, the Maximum Total Facilities Grant for the Dale Street Elementary School Project may increase to as much as $19,599,995. The final grant amount will be determined by the MSBA based on a review and audit of all Project costs incurred by the Town, in accordance with the MSBA’s regulations, policies, and guidelines and the Project Funding Agreement. The final grant amount may be an amount less than $19,165,5418. Pursuant to the MSBA’s regulations, the Town has 120 days after the date of the MSBA’s Board vote to acquire and certify local approval for an appropriation and all other necessary local votes or approvals showing acceptance of the cost, site, type, scope, and timeline for the Dale Street Elementary School Project. After receipt of the certified votes demonstrating local approval, the MSBA and the Town will execute a Project Funding Agreement, which will set forth the terms and conditions pursuant to which the Town will receive its grant from the MSBA. Once the Project Funding Agreement has been executed by both parties, the Town will be eligible to submit requests for reimbursement for the Dale Street Elementary School Project costs to the MSBA. The Project Scope and Budget Agreement signed by the Town and the MSBA will form the basis for the Project Funding Agreement. We will be contacting you soon to discuss these next steps in more detail, but in the meantime, I wanted to share with you the Board’s approval of the Dale Street Elementary School Project in the Town of Medfield to replace the existing Dale Street Elementary School with a new facility serving grades 4-5 on the Wheelock Elementary School site. I look forward to continuing to work with you during the MSBA’s grant program process. As always, feel free to contact me or my staff at (617) 720-4466 should you have any questions. 40 Broad Street, Suite 500 ● Boston, MA 02109 ● Phone: 617-720-4466 ● www.MassSchoolBuildings.org October 27, 2021 Page 2 Medfield Project Scope and Budget Authorization Board Action Letter Sincerely, John K. McCarthy Executive Director Cc: Legislative Delegation Kristine Trierweiler, Medfield Town Administrator Jessica Reilly, Chair, Medfield School Committee Dr. Jeffrey J. Marsden, Superintendent, Medfield Public Schools Michael LaFrancesca, Director of Finance and Operations, Medfield Public Schools Lynn Stapleton, Owner’s Project Manager, Leftfield LLC Gina Gomes-Cruz, Owner’s Project Manager, Leftfield LLC Lawrence Spang, Designer, Arrowstreet Inc. File: 10.2 Letters (Region 4)

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Posted in Buildings, Schools

SBC Community Forum at 7PM on 10/28

Posted on October 25, 2021 | Comments Off on SBC Community Forum at 7PM on 10/28

From Susan Maritan for the School Building Committee –

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Posted in Buildings, Schools

SBC tonight at 7PM on proposed costs & tax implications

Posted on September 22, 2021 | Comments Off on SBC tonight at 7PM on proposed costs & tax implications

From the School Building Committee –

If you’d like to learn more about the proposed school’s costs or the tax implications please join the community conversation on WEDNESDAY, September 22nd at 7PM in the high school auditorium or tune in remotely via Facebook Live or Zoom.

To join online, please use this link: 

https://medfield-net.zoom.us/j/87937341744?pwd=SHlaQTJBRzFmNkxIWnp6dUU2MldYUT09

Enter Password: 282689 

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Posted in Buildings, Schools

Community Conversation about the Elementary School Project at Wheelock Campus, tomorrow, 8/25 at 7PM

Posted on August 24, 2021 | 1 comment

From the School Building Committee –

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Please join the SBC on Wednesday, August 25th at 7PM for a Community Conversation. It will be held in-person at the Dale Street School cafeteria and virtually on FB Live and Zoom. The Zoom link is: https://medfield-net.zoom.us/j/84839791333?pwd=VVY0UFAxdHRabEFKTmFhbmN6ZFI4Zz09  

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Posted in Buildings, Schools

SBC’s July Community Conversation -7PM Thursday – in person & by Zoom

Posted on July 27, 2021 | Comments Off on SBC’s July Community Conversation -7PM Thursday – in person & by Zoom

From Susan Maritan –

All Invited to Community Conversation Regarding Proposed New Elementary School


Medfield residents who are interested in learning more about the proposed new elementary school for grades 4 and 5 are encouraged to attend or tune in remotely to the July Community Conversation with the School Building Committee (SBC). The presentation will be held on Thursday, July 29th at 7PM at Wheelock School or can be viewed online via Facebook Live or Zoom.


“The SBC is looking forward to connecting with the community and sharing progress to date on this important project,” said Anna Mae O’Shea Brooke, SBC member. “The key topics for this month’s discussion are the educational benefits of both the new school building and the Wheelock campus location. We will also be presenting the most recent architectural renderings of the site. This is especially exciting as the drawings bring the vision of the proposed school to life for all to see.” 


“Today’s modern learning environment has evolved with regards to space planning and technology. The classroom is no longer constrained by physical boundaries and is more dynamic than our traditional view of teachers presenting a lesson in front of their students. We want to highlight some of the key features that the new school will offer not only inside the building but also how the abundance of outdoor space will create educational opportunities that were not available to our grade four and five students in the past,” continued O’Shea Brooke. “We hope residents will come and see for themselves the benefits the new school could provide to our young learners and dedicated educators.”


The SBC will also be taking questions from residents and addressing other topics such as cost planning including the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) reimbursement currently estimated at approximately $18 million, and the next steps in planning as the SBC prepares to present the final project to the community for a town wide vote this Fall.


The Community Conversation will be held at Wheelock School or can be watched remotely on Facebook Live and Zoom. Please visit the Facebook page – Elementary School Project Wheelock Campus – to watch there, or join the conversation via Zoom.
Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:


Please click this URL to join. https://medfield-net.zoom.us/j/87390173150?pwd=ZVlSVk5qam05S2ZsUklFZEpzNzNVQT09

Passcode: 245605

Questions for the SBC may be submitted to: NewElementarySchoolProject@gmail.com, and for more information on the Medfield Elementary School Project, please visit: tinyurl.com/mednewschool. Those interested in receiving future school project updates may enter their email addresses at the bottom of the home page.

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Posted in Buildings, Information, Schools

SBC meeting this evening at 7PM

Posted on June 23, 2021 | Comments Off on SBC meeting this evening at 7PM

From Susan Maritan for the School Building Committee –

Dear Medfield Community,

My name is Leo Brehm. I am a Medfield resident and also a member of the School Building Committee and the School Committee. I’d like to encourage the Medfield community to tune into this week’s School Building Committee meeting on Wednesday, June 23rd at 7pm.

This particular meeting will be an informative one as the committee will respond to the citizens’ petition and review estimated costs, the budget and design updates. 

I would like to take this opportunity to address a frequently asked question (that is on everyone’s mind) regarding the reuse plan for the existing Dale Street facility. Planning for the reuse of the building is under consideration by the Medfield Permanent Planning and Building Committee as part of the master planning process the town has been conducting throughout this past year. They will continue to look closely at the feasibility of the Parks and Recreation Department using the space, if it becomes available.

I, and the entire SBC, look forward to sharing more about the proposed new school over the coming weeks and months. We will be holding more Community Conversations during the summer to share updates on our work and to continue engaging with the community. To keep up-to-date, sign up for our weekly Wednesday updates here and follow us on FB and Instagram and please visit our website http://tinyurl.com/mednewschool and sign up on the homepage to receive our updates.

If you have questions for the SBC, please email us at NewElementarySchoolProject@gmail.com

To join the Wednesday, June 23 at 7pm SBC Zoom meeting, use this link: https://medfield-net.zoom.us/j/81837257740?pwd=ZHV0SVpPank1VjJCQUVHNGpiVDVVdz09 Enter Password: 101575

Sincerely yours,

Leo Brehm

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Posted in Buildings, Schools, Uncategorized

SBC public forum 4PM, Sunday, 6/13/21

Posted on June 1, 2021 | 2 comments

From Susan Maritan –

Community Invited to Learn About New School

The School Building Committee (SBC) is inviting all residents to attend a public forum for the proposed new elementary school on the Wheelock campus. The forum is scheduled for Sunday, June 13 at 4:00 at Dale Street School. Community members may participate in-person at Dale or may choose to watch the forum live on Medfield TV. Either way, the SBC is encouraging the community to come or tune in and learn more.

One of the main topics addressed at the forum will be the site selection of the Wheelock campus and will include a discussion of both the advantages and disadvantages of the campus model. Other items to be addressed are costs, resources spent to date, timelines and the impact of a recent citizen’s petition to keep the project at Dale Street. There will be ample time to answer residents’ questions and for community discussion.

“The SBC remains excited about the prospect of bringing a much needed new school, for grades 4 to 5, to Medfield to start the school year in 2024,” said Anna Mae O’Shea Brooke, School Building Committee member. “This is an important time for the project, and we need community engagement now more than ever to keep the project on track. We have a lot of new information to share, and we want to hear from all residents. I can’t stress enough how important participation is on June 13th.”

For more information from the SBC please visit: tinyurl.com/mednewschool, and while on the site, on the bottom of the home page, please subscribe to receive school project updates. 

2 Comments

Posted in Buildings, Schools

ATM

Posted on May 18, 2021 | 3 comments

At the annual town meeting (ATM) yesterday evening, the citizen petition, Article 29, asking for an advisory “sense of the town meeting” opinion with respect to the Dale Street School site selection passed 229-213, basically slightly favoring the Dale at Dale solution over the Wheelock site.

The only other article that generated any controversy was the other citizen petition, Article 30, which asked for the creation of a study committee to look into how future School Building Committees would be appointed, which was handily defeated.

Below is the view of the 450 town residents from the platform at the front of the ATM across the front of the bleachers – note Select Board photographer’s shadow to understand how residents had to look right into the setting sun. There were two great video screens at the front to either side of the front platform, just like at a concert, that were rented to assist viewing the speakers – they were the best addition to the ATM. We experienced typical New England weather, storm clouds with rain drops to start, then sunny and too hot, and at the end 63 degrees that felt like freezing after an hour of sitting still in it. Fortunately, at the very end at around 9PM, after four hours, the Moderator asked if anyone was still undecided on the last Article about siting the new school (only a very few hands appeared), and then he called the question. About a dozen people waiting at microphones then lost their opportunity to speak.

Annual town meeting yesterday attendees as seen from the front platform

3 Comments

Posted in Buildings, Schools, Town Meeting

SBC’s Community Conversation tonight at 7PM

Posted on May 13, 2021 | 2 comments

From Anna Mae O’Shea Brooke –

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Community Conversation and Q&A Session on the Proposed Elementary School Project

Hosted by members of the School Building Committee

Thursday, May 13 at 7pm via Zoom:

To join online, use this link:

https://medfield-net.zoom.us/j/89214489926?pwd=YXVKTCtGS3N1cEpMeUpnMkpIa1Jhdz09

a. Enter Password: 644770

Medfield is participating in the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process for a new elementary school to replace the existing Dale Street School. The new school will serve grades 4 & 5. The location for the future new school will be adjacent to the existing Wheelock School, creating an elementary school campus serving grades 2 through 5. 

Join members of the School Building Committee (SBC) as they recap the details of the proposed new elementary school project, the MSBA process and why the Wheelock site was unanimously selected by the School Building Committee, the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee.

Please click here for the website and Project Summary and Key Facts Sheet.

Questions: email DaleStreetSchoolProject@gmail.com and follow us on Facebook.

2 Comments

Posted in Buildings, Children, Information, Schools