Designers present wide-ranging options for Weston high-school and middle-school project; fire-station plan may affect field access

Designers for Weston’s combined high-school and middle-school project presented a broad range of master-plan possibilities to the school committee, from modest renovations to replacement-of-buildings options and a single consolidated structure.

Presenters described the work as early-stage “boxes on a site” used to explore footprints and circulation; cost estimates are expected after the committee narrows the options. An evening public meeting and additional principal coffees were scheduled to gather more community feedback, and staff said project manager Derek Joyce and other administrators will host sessions for each school’s families.

The committee and school staff addressed a separate town planning effort: a proposal to site a southern emergency services station on a campus field near Wellesley Street. Tom Palmer and others on a town fire-station committee had previously identified the southernmost campus field as a potential station site; school planners said none of the current school alternatives appear to place new school buildings on that particular baseball field, which is bounded by wetlands and therefore unsuitable for significant school construction. However, staff cautioned that the fire-station proposal could still affect site circulation and the location of driveways, entrances and utilities.

Committee members asked the designers to refine a smaller set of options for cost estimating, and staff said cost estimates will inform internal and public debate about which alternatives the town and school will pursue. The committee emphasized the project is at an early stage and will require further public engagement and detailed study of wetlands constraints and shared-site impacts with town planners.