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Consultants outline early master-plan stages; engagement, website and survey to launch
Summary
Education Resource Strategies and Perkins Eastman described a multi-phase facilities master-plan process and community outreach. Consultants said they will do school walkthroughs, develop scenarios and post a project website; ERS contract was described as just over $300,000 and a community survey was expected to go live shortly.
Braintree School Committee — Consultants from Education Resource Strategies (ERS) and Perkins Eastman briefed the committee on the early phases of a district master plan that will assess facilities, develop visioning scenarios and collect public feedback ahead of any proposed capital work.
Jada (Jade) Alexander of ERS described four phases: facilities assessment, visioning, initial scenario development and final scenarios. "We are in really, really, really early stages," she said, and summarized recent walkthroughs at Ross, Alice and Liberty schools. Alexander said the project team has established a working group with town and district staff and will publish a project website to collect community input and host a calendar of engagement opportunities.
Town staff and the consultant discussed the practical scope of the facilities assessment: Perkins Eastman will perform a more comprehensive building analysis and ERS will build engagement tools. A town official told the committee the ERS engagement "is just over $300,000" for the master-plan project. The team said site visits for assessment would generally involve roughly a day at each school and that an initial community survey and project website were expected to be posted within a week.
Committee members asked how this study differed from prior assessments (previous estimates of large repair need were referenced) and how the final product would translate into financing options. Consultants said the engagement will include financing scenarios — including MSBA eligibility, grants and municipal bonding options — and will present trade-offs (e.g., short-term repairs versus full system replacement) so the public can judge priorities.
What’s next: consultants will continue assessment work, publish the project site and survey, convene broader advisory groups as needed and bring draft scenarios to the committee. The committee discussed communicating findings broadly (newsletter insert, census mailings and parent outreach) to prepare the community for potential capital decisions.
