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Medford building committee narrows high‑school design options and plans community outreach
Summary
The Medford Comprehensive High School Building Committee told the school committee it submitted six design options to the MSBA, will seek MSBA feedback, and will host public forums and targeted outreach while second‑round costing and space‑change votes proceed in April and May.
Member Graham, chair of the Medford Comprehensive High School Building Committee, updated the school committee on April 6 about progress on the Medford High School MSBA project. He said the district moved more quickly than originally planned at the MSBA’s request and submitted six options for the project team and MSBA to review; the MSBA is expected to return feedback in coming days.
Graham described the near‑term schedule: building committee members will be asked to submit any space‑change proposals for consideration before an April 27 committee vote; the project team will then seek second‑round costing from estimators and return to the committee on May 4 with updates and MSBA feedback. The committee also plans expanded community outreach, including a public forum on April 15, mailers to every Medford household, visits to the senior center and other community events.
Why it matters: The site is complex and the committee said there is not a single clear favorite among the six options. The project includes contingency planning for construction impacts (playing fields and program displacement), conversations with DCR and Friends of the Fells about access and permitting, and separate discussions about the pool and vocational programming funding. Graham said the committee has also pursued grant funding and federal grant requests to support tenant space in the welcome center.
Next steps: The committee will solicit and document feedback, refine space summaries and costing, continue community engagement and coordinate with city traffic and site planning staff to study circulation, bus routing and construction staging. MSBA reimbursement and vocational program reimbursement at the state level remain active policy issues the committee is tracking.
