School Committee approves $845,000 in FY27 capital articles; Wilkins decarbonization grant pending
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Summary
The School Committee approved a package of FY27 capital articles (articles 1–7) totaling $845,000 for district repairs and equipment, prioritized O'Donnell Middle School work, and discussed a $3 million grant application for decarbonizing Wilkins Elementary.
Stoughton — The School Committee on Feb. 10 approved a set of FY27 capital School Department articles focused on repairs and safety upgrades, directing funds primarily to O'Donnell Middle School and district-wide technology and safety needs.
Superintendent Dr. Joe Baieta presented the results of a facilities assessment conducted by Bureau Veritas and an itemized 20-year needs list he said totals about $268 million at current costs. "What we have here, over the next 20 years is about, at current cost, about $268,000,000 worth of updates to make," he said.
For FY27 the district proposed prioritized articles including exterior and interior door replacement at OMS ($230,000), classroom window shade replacement at OMS ($45,000), rooftop-unit work at OMS ($35,000), AED replacements district-wide ($13,000), district card access and vestibule updates ($50,000), and a district-wide flat-panel/projector update ($436,330) that could be phased. In total Articles 1–7 were listed at $845,000 (not including the Wilkins decarbonization project pending grant results).
The Wilkins decarbonization project — a previously proposed $2.7 million upgrade to replace steam heat with a new heating/ventilation system and improve airflow — is now coupled with a newly filed grant request of $3.0 million. "Today, we filed another grant for $3,000,000. We will get those grant results probably by town meeting," Superintendent Baieta said; if the grant fully funds the project, the committee would remove the article from the warrant.
The motion to approve the FY27 capital articles was moved by Jen Sears and seconded by Armando; the roll-call vote passed 5–0. Committee members asked for clearer priority lists (top five critical items and timelines), specifics about which doors or classrooms will receive replacements and confirmation of how bids will be procured and prioritized.
What's next: Administration will go to bid or finalize scopes for approved articles; grant results for the Wilkins project are expected before Town Meeting in May and could alter the final funding request.