Medfield Town Meeting Votes To Reconsider Dale Street School Plan

MEDFIELD, MA — Medfield residents at Monday night's annual town meeting narrowly approved a petition calling for the school district to reconsider a proposal that would move grade four and five students at Dale Street School to a combined campus at Wheelock Elementary School.

Under the current proposal, which the Massachusetts School Building Authority already approved, a new school would get built on the Wheelock site for grades four and five students. The existing school would continue housing grades two and three. Officials estimated the new school will cost $80 million and house up to 575 students.

But petition supporters instead want a new school built at the Dale Street site, voting 229-212 for Article 29 at town meeting. The vote was nonbinding, but it forces the Medfield School Building Committee to reconsider having the Dale Street site host a new school.

Supporters, including resident Jerry Potts, said they backed the petition to give residents more input into the project. He argued town residents were not given a proper chance to give input at last year's public forums.

Potts also said building a new school at Wheelock would put four schools within a mile of each other.

"It's the right project. It's the wrong location," Potts said. "This is not a small group of people that are disgruntled. It puts an undue burden to our Wheelock neighbors."

Mike Quinlan, the chair of the school building committee, refuted Potts' claim that there wasn't enough public input. He said there were several community meetings, and the committee chose the Wheelock site after years of studying the best possible location.

"We're convinced this option is the best long-term option for the town, and it deserves to be seen through," Quinlan said.

Quinlan also said he was against the petition because the town would have to foot the bill for any school feasibility studies. He also said further delay could risk the funding the school district already secured through the MSBA.

Several teachers also supported the Wheelock project, citing the condition of the current Dale building. They worried delaying approval could add years to the timeline for a new school.

Although the vote was nonbinding, the petition's approval may have an impact on Fall's special town meeting, where residents will ultimately decide if the school project moves forward.

See how the rest of Medfield Town Meeting's votes went here.