Select board wins permission to repurpose Thornton W. Burgess School; moving and renovation funds approved

Town meeting members voted to change the legal use of the parcel that contains the former Thornton W. Burgess Middle School so the town may use the building for general municipal purposes, clearing the first legal hurdle to relocate town offices and the library to that site.

The article to change the parcel’s use to any lawful municipal purpose passed by the required two-thirds vote. Select board members said the school has been closed for several years and the town now owns the building; they argued moving administrative offices and the library to Thornton W. Burgess would solve long-standing space and accessibility problems at the current town hall and expand library and parks and recreation programming.

Town meeting then approved two separate spending articles tied to the plan: a $80,000 appropriation to move administrative furniture and library holdings and a $75,000 appropriation for initial repairs and renovations to bring the former school up to basic operational condition. Both votes passed (the move appropriation recorded as not unanimous). Select board members said the move funding covered relocation of furniture, shelving and setup; the renovation funds were described as initial work to make the building usable while longer-term design and construction funds would be considered later.

Speakers who opposed or urged caution at the use-change vote raised concerns about the town’s original use restriction on the parcel (the land was originally taken for school purposes), the potential loss of future options to re-open a school, and the expected long-term costs. Former select board member Mary Ellen Glover noted community attachments to the town hall and warned that repurposing Thornton Burgess removes one site that could be used for schools in the future. Select board members responded that returning the building to a certified school would require large capital investment (committee presentations cited renovation costs in the tens of millions to reopen as a school) and that the town must balance current space, ADA access and program needs.

Select board members said prior studies show renovating the current town hall to meet space and accessibility needs would cost roughly $7 million–$8 million and still not solve long-term capacity limits; they presented the school move as the most cost-effective near-term solution.

The change-of-use vote does not itself obligate the town to move but permits later action. Town officials said additional public review, design work and possible bond votes or other funding authorizations will precede any major renovation work.

Background: Thornton W. Burgess Middle School closed in 2017; the town negotiated the end of the lease and now owns the building. The select board and advisory committee recommended the change-of-use article and the initial funding measures presented to town meeting.