Consultants preview Braintree facilities dashboard, flag major deferred‑maintenance and options to reduce school footprint

Consultants supporting Braintree’s long‑range facilities planning presented updated analyses and a public dashboard to the School Committee on Jan. 13, saying the district faces a sizable capital maintenance backlog and that options under consideration include modernization of the high school and reducing the district’s footprint by at least two sites.

Key findings and dashboard: ERS and Perkins Eastman highlighted three takeaways: (1) estimated capital maintenance needs exceed what is currently funded in the town’s five‑year capital plan; (2) updated enrollment and capacity analysis shows current capacity outweighs enrollment, with some projected declines over the next decade; and (3) educational adequacy scores vary, with middle schools generally scoring higher. The consultants previewed a public dashboard (bpsfacilitiesplandashboard.com) that shows school‑level enrollment, updated capacity estimates, educational adequacy ratings and a range of maintenance cost estimates.

Scale of needs and budget context: Committee members asked about the size of the deferred‑maintenance backlog relative to the town’s capital plan. The mayor’s recent capital improvement plan for FY25–29 contemplates roughly $31 million in general‑fund bond support across town uses; consultants and the mayor contrasted that figure with prior estimates of much larger school needs (consultants referenced a prior $100M‑scale figure discussed in committee materials). The consultants said many buildings require significant mechanical and system upgrades (HVAC, electrical, roofing) and that updated cost ranges on the dashboard account for labor and contingency.

Options and community input: The working group is exploring permutations of site combinations and grade reconfiguration options (including discussion of moving eighth grade to the high school) to understand cost, programmatic and geographic impacts. The community survey (about 580 responses to date) showed roughly 70% of respondents would support repurposing/closing some schools to invest in fewer, stronger schools, while also voicing concerns about class size, transportation and loss of community identity.

Next steps: Consultants plan to continue vetting options, finalize FCI calculations, and present recommended scenarios in February; they said many options will require additional short‑term investment and likely a town vote (debt exclusion/override) to fund major modernization.

Provenance: Presentation, dashboard demo and the community survey summary were presented in the master plan/facilities portion of the meeting.