Ethics Letter Bars Natick School Board Member's School Close Vote

NATICK, MA — The Natick School Committee is facing a decision to close Johnson Elementary School, but one member of the board may not be able to vote on the matter because of her ties to the school.

Catherine Brunell, who was elected to her first term in March, has two children who attend the Main Street school. Because of that, Brunell said she was asked to recuse herself from voting on the closure. She sought an opinion from the state Ethics Commission, an agency that enforces conflict-of-interest laws governing elected officials.

The Ethics Commission ruled it wasn't Brunell's children that created a conflict, it was owning a home near the school. If Natick closes the school, it's possible Brunell's property value could change, which means she would have a financial stake in the decision.

"The consistent answer was that the ruling is binding and that I would need to pay for 'an independent real estate appraisal' which would need to specifically say that the closure of Johnson would have no impact on our home value," Brunell wrote on her blog Thursday. "The attorney explained they need 'a serious document with careful analysis.'"

A group of Johnson parents have strongly opposed the closure. Brunell has said she was partly motivated to run for a School Committee seat after talk of closing Johnson appeared before in spring 2020.

The Natick School Committee discussed the Johnson closure at Wednesday's meeting. The committee ended up voting 5 to 1 to possibly vote o nthe closure at the Nov. 15 meeting. Brunell voluntarily recused herself from the vote, and member Haley Sonneborn was the sole "no" vote.

Natick renewed talk of closing Johnson this fall. The 81-year-old school needs major renovations to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and upgrades to mend the roof, remove hazardous materials, and other fixes, according to the district. Those upgrades could cost between $3 and $5 million, according to estimates. Building an entirely new school could cost ten times as much.

Superintendent Anna Nolin has said she does not believe the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), which funds school capital projects, would pay for upgrades. That's because the school at capacity for its current population. Officials have said it would be more cost-effective to focus capital spending on other schools.

The MSBA would not be able to make a final ruling on funding Johnson unless Natick submits a statement of interest to the agency, Nolin said. The agency's rules do allow for exceptions to a rule about funding renovation projects at schools at or near full capacity.