The Stoughton School Building Committee spent much of its Dec. 10 meeting reviewing design, permitting and operational issues for the proposed elementary school.

Project consultant Eric (project team) told the committee the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) issued comments on the design‑development package and required a DESE resubmittal after plans changed to add or relocate changing tables in special‑education rooms, which in turn required an updated narrative and plans. Eric said the consultant team (DRA) had worked with the district and planned to return the revised package to MSBA by the end of the week.

The project schedule: 60% construction documents were sent to estimators; estimates are due Jan. 5, with a reconciliation Jan. 9 and final reconciled estimates by Jan. 16. The team said it will target a Jan. 30 submittal of 60% documents to MSBA and proposed moving the January SBC meeting to Jan. 21 so members can review reconciled estimates.

Site, permitting and NEPA: the team said MSBA asked for a site‑approval form and a town-board endorsement that a NEPA review is not required; the design team is preparing environmental materials and expects to submit deeds to the registry after selectboard sign-off next week. The Conservation Commission hearing was scheduled for Dec. 11 and the Planning Board hearings for Dec. 18 and Jan. 22.

EV charging stations drew extended discussion. Plans show 15 charging stations (about 10% of parking) to secure a green 'lead' point under grant/energy criteria; committee members questioned that number for an elementary school, citing limited current use at the high school. Dr. Baeta, the district superintendent, described ongoing operational problems with existing chargers and expressed strong dissatisfaction with the vendor relationship: "it has been a disaster," he said, citing months of unreturned calls and unresolved outages. The project team said the state energy code mandates a baseline number of charging provisions and that grant funding could reduce the district’s net cost substantially (projected repair/cost of $22,000 reduced to ~$2,500 after grants), but timing of grant awards could delay completion by roughly 60 days.

Security scope: a committee member noted the 60% drawings show 45 card readers — far more than comparable projects — and asked for an explanation to the community; the project team said security details have been discussed in working groups and some operational specifics cannot be disclosed in open session for safety reasons, but the team agreed to present the rationale at a future public or working‑group meeting.

Public engagement and next steps: the committee discussed holding a comprehensive hybrid public forum after the planning‑board second hearing and MSBA filing; they agreed to target Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026 at 7 p.m. at the high school for a hybrid meeting. The project team will supply updated cash‑flow and reconciled cost estimates in mid‑January and report back to the committee.

What happens next: DRA and district staff will submit the DESE resubmittal to MSBA, provide environmental documentation to support the site approval form, and present reconciled estimates and a security‑systems explanation at upcoming meetings and the public forum.