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Westwood committee reviews facilities master plan; options range from modular fixes to new schools
Summary
Consultants presented a district-wide facilities assessment and six options — from maintenance-only to new construction — estimating rough costs, enrollment pressures at Thurston and Sheehan, and a timeline tied to a possible MSBA application with a statement-of-interest due April 2026.
Superintendent Tim opened a presentation of the Westwood Public Schools facilities master plan and introduced Doran Whittier consultants Michelle Rogers and Don Walter, who walked the committee through a district building assessment, enrollment forecasts, possible solutions and cost ranges.
The consultants said the district’s buildings are generally well maintained but identified program-space and capacity shortfalls, especially at Thurston Middle School and Sheehan School. “Thurston has 68% of its spaces undersized by more than 10%,” Michelle Rogers said. She added that Sheehan also shows substantial undersized classrooms and mechanical, electrical, and accessibility issues. The consultants used Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) guidelines to benchmark room sizes and to estimate capacity.
The nut graf: the study lays out six illustrative options — (1) status quo/capital repairs only; (2) add modular classrooms; (3) new Thurston plus modulars elsewhere; (4) build a new K–5 to combine Sheehan and Martha Jones or build a larger combined elementary; (5) new…
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