Braintree council hears mayor's update on school redistricting as neighbors warn of neighborhood harm
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Summary
Mayor Joyce updated the council on the school committee's redistricting work and maintenance-cost estimates; several councilors and residents urged caution, argued against closing neighborhood schools and called for alternatives such as a special education stabilization fund.
Mayor Joyce told the Town Council the school committee is continuing to develop options for redistricting and will hold a public hearing the following Monday in this chamber.
"We've shared some ... facilities perspective on all the schools," Mayor Joyce said, and told the council the town had provided a facilities estimate that was "in the ballpark of probably a hundred million dollars across all our school buildings" for maintenance needs alone.
Several councilors and residents used the council's time to raise substantive concerns ahead of the school committee's public hearing. Councilor Ward said two of three options discussed the prior night would close Highland School and criticized the process for narrowing options before public input. He called the committee's approach "reactionary," warned of travel-distance increases for students and said his district had already supported debt-exclusion and override measures.
"No school has to close under this process," Ward said, and urged alternatives. He recommended creating a special education stabilization fund to smooth unpredictable special-education costs; he said the school business manager had identified a $648,000 gap on an $82,000,000 budget and that the administration's projection included a 15% increase in special-education spending.
Other councilors similarly urged caution and public engagement. Councilor Maglio noted the town will meet with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) on Friday to discuss implications for future partnerships and potential payback obligations tied to past projects; he said the council hoped to share MSBA feedback publicly at the upcoming hearing.
Speakers from East Braintree and parents urged preservation of neighborhood schools, emphasizing Ross School's role serving a high-needs, diverse population. One speaker said Ross has the town's highest percentage of high-needs students (56%) and that losing the neighborhood school would harm community revitalization efforts.
Councilors and the mayor repeatedly framed redistricting as complex and important, with Mayor Joyce stressing the decisions rest with the school committee but asking for council feedback and public participation at the committee hearing.
What the council did: This item was an informational communication; no formal council decision was taken. Councilors pledged to attend and participate in the school committee's public hearing and to raise constituent concerns there.