The Medford School Committee voted Feb. 10 to enter a feasibility study agreement with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for the Medford High School project and to update the building committee's membership.

Member Graham told the committee the district worked with the mayor's office and city planning staff to certify an enrollment figure of 1,395 students for the project, a roughly 200-student increase from current enrollment and a basis for the MSBA eligibility certification.

What the vote authorizes
Approving the MSBA feasibility agreement allows the district to hire an owner's project manager and a design team to complete the feasibility phase. Member Graham said the feasibility phase will answer key design, capacity and site questions and that the MSBA board meeting to consider Medford's advancement is scheduled for Feb. 24.

Building committee changes
The committee also approved changes to the Medford Comprehensive High School Building Committee: replacing former appointees with current district leaders (for example, replacing the superintendent roster line with Interim Superintendent Suzanne Gallucci in a voting role, replacing the assistant-superintendent slot with Joan Bowen as a voting member, replacing Tom Dalton with Will Pippicelli as a nonvoting member), removing Lawrence Brown at his request and adding an MTA member who is a Medford resident at the recommendation of Monica Cabral. The committee renewed the building committee through Sept. 2026 or the end of the feasibility phase, whichever comes first.

Vote and next steps
The feasibility agreement motion passed on a roll call vote recorded as seven affirmative, zero negative. The building committee membership changes passed on voice vote. The building committee is scheduled to begin work immediately on owner's project manager and designer selection and feasibility deliverables.

Ending
Committee members said they expect the feasibility phase to include the detailed work that will frame subsequent funding requests to MSBA and local stakeholders; administration and the newly constituted building committee will return with procurement documents to begin the next phase.