L-R: Underwood Elementary School and Ward Elementary School (photos: NPS School Facilities and Enrollment Planning Study by Perkins Eastman)
Over the course of this fall, Newton Public Schools (NPS) presented its first comprehensive long-range facilities plan since 2019. This follows a Demographic Study and ten-year projection completed by Cropper GIS McKibben in late 2024, following the dissolution of the Underwood-Ward Task Force, which had been created by the previous School Committee but encountered lack of clear direction. The recent meetings culminated in a vote at the December 15 School Committee meeting to proceed with MSBA applications for Ward and Underwood elementary schools, with the School Committee moving forward with its goal to get as many students into new buildings as possible, in whatever way is politically and financially viable.
This fall’s events included:
The NPS Long-Range Planning Working Group (LRPWG) currently includes Superintendent Dr. Anna Nolin; Stephanie Gilman, Director of Planning; Liam Hurley, CFO; and School Committee Members Emily Prenner, Tamika Olszewski, and Chris Brezski, chair.
Incoming School Committee Chair Alicia Piedalue, Incoming School Committee Member Arrianna Proia, and Incoming Mayor Marc Laredo attended the meeting with the November Newton Corner Neighborhood Association.
The MSBA
This fall’s planning and community engagement coincided with the School Committee’s need to decide whether to submit a Statement of Interest (SOI) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for the next projects in the NPS construction pipeline. The MSBA is a government agency within the State Treasurer’s Office, operating separately but in cooperation with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The MSBA is funded entirely at the state level with $.01 of every Massachusetts sales tax dollar, and it allocates its funds via grants to municipal and regional school building…