Framingham Takes Major Step To Build Southside Elementary School

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The Framingham School Committee has taken a major step toward the construction of a new elementary school south of Route 9, although it may be years before shovels hit the ground.

The committee on Wednesday unanimously voted to enter the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) funding process, which could bring tens of millions of dollars for a new school. But it's just the first step in a long process.

The city's newest building, the under-construction Fuller Middle School, began the MSBA process in November 2013 — which ended in Framingham getting $39.5 million from the state for the nearly $100 million school. It was another five years until Framingham voters approved a debt exclusion to pay for Fuller in 2018.

The new elementary school is sorely needed, school officials say, because most district students live south of Route 9, but six of the city's nine elementary schools are north of Route 9.

District 8 School Committee member Jessica Barnhill said during Wednesday's meeting her family goes back generations on the south side of the city — long enough to have attended school entirely south of Route 9. That's not the case anymore.

"570-plus kids grades K to 5 in District 8 are sent all over the city to attend elementary schools elsewhere," Barnhill said.

"Busing all over the place from the south side is not fair, it's not equitable," District 6 School Committee member Geoff Epstein added.

The school committee discussed plans for the new school in April, with a building for grades 1-5 along Bethany Road near St. Tarcisius Cemetery highlighted as "optimal." In the fall, the committee approved spending $600,000 to further study the feasibility of a new school.

The Framingham City Council still has to vote to approve the MSBA entry for the new school.