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Concord board opens public hearing and votes to place Eastman School sale question on Nov. 2025 ballot
Summary
After a public hearing with neighbors and advocates, the Concord School Board voted to place a charter‑amendment ballot question on the November 2025 ballot to permit sale of Eastman School (4.6 acres); the board also established an advisory committee to guide reuse and agreed to consult counsel on the charter interpretation in nonpublic session.
At a special Board of Education meeting following the instructional committee session, board members voted to place a charter‑amendment question on the Nov. 2025 ballot to permit sale of Eastman School in East Concord.
District staff provided basic fiscal and property details during the public meeting: the lot is roughly 4.6 acres, the district budgets about $50,000–$60,000 a year for the building (life‑safety and utilities), the current tenant (Concord Boys & Girls Club) pays about $1,600 a month rent, and the district spent close to $65,000 on partial roof repairs this year. Staff also cautioned that the assessor's taxable value (reported as about $2,558,000) reflects an estimate for a tax‑exempt property and is not necessarily a sale price.
Public testimony was mixed. Charles Russell (Ward 5) said past reuse processes eroded trust and urged the board to provide clearer plans about potential buyers and uses before asking voters to grant sale permission: "Many thought the public hearing was a sham and it was a done deal," he said, urging transparency. Crystal Breton (Ward 10), a neighbor who uses the back fields, said residents want usable detail and some neighbors expressed interest in purchasing small portions (for driveway access). Suzanne Smithmeier, a longtime volunteer and neighbor, stressed preserving character and local features and told the board she would resist removal of a mature sugar maple: "I would have to tie myself to that tree before anyone took it down."
Board members debated whether the charter amendment language merely requires voter approval to sell or allows the district to list and negotiate with buyers before a future sale; legal counsel conferred in nonpublic and staff told the board counsel advised that the ballot language would appropriately ask voter permission to sell while standard public processes (planning board review, public hearings and deed restrictions) would still apply.
The board then held a roll‑call vote and recorded unanimous support from those present to place the Eastman School sale language as proposed by counsel on the November 2025 ballot. The board also voted to create an advisory committee (members appointed by the board president) to advise on evaluating reuse proposals and said the committee process would prioritize neighborhood representation and public input.
