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Policy analysts and teachers union warn capital plan may undercount Madison Park costs; councilors press for O'Bryant plan
Summary
A Boston Policy Institute analyst flagged a potential mismatch between the capital budget and likely costs for a rebuild of Madison Park; Boston Teachers Union voiced support for the project and councilors pressed Boston Public Schools on the lack of a plan for the John D. O'Bryant School that shares campus facilities with Madison Park.
Boston — Public testimony and council questions at the July 15 Ways and Means hearing focused attention on the city’s capital plan and on how Madison Park work could affect the nearby John D. O’Bryant (O'Brien) School.
Gregory Maynard, cofounder and executive director of the Boston Policy Institute, told the committee the city’s most recent five-year capital budget shows $100,000,000 for Madison Park across FY27–FY31, a figure he said looks “unrealistically low” compared with older estimates near $700,000,000 and with costs for comparable urban high-school projects elsewhere in the region. "There is a problem with Boston's capital budget," Maynard said, urging clarity about how the city will reconcile those numbers.
Ayush Batchpai, a political organizer for the Boston Teachers Union, testified that the union strongly supports a new Madison Park campus and encouraged the city to pursue MSBA projects citywide.
Several councilors used the hearing to press Boston Public Schools staff about the status of the O'Bryant School, which shares campus facilities with Madison Park. Councilor Flynn said he had been promised a plan for O'Bryant in 2024 and pressed officials for an update; BPS staff said there is no current major renovation or new-build plan for O'Bryant, that the district will continue maintenance and improvements where feasible, and that any future planning would be done collaboratively with the school community.
Councilors suggested scheduling a separate hearing on the future of O'Bryant so the community can receive more focused answers. The Ways and Means hearing itself did not change budget totals; officials said the capital plan’s treatment of future large projects will be resolved as schematic design and appropriation steps advance.
