Braintree School Committee votes 6-1 to close Highlands Elementary for fall 2026

BRAINTREE -- April 6, 2026, Braintree School Committee votes 6-1 to close Highlands Elementary and reopen Old South for fall 2026. The committee voted Monday at the Colbert Administration Building to shut Highlands Elementary at the end of the 2025-2026 school year and relocate its approximately 315 students and all staff to Old South, which will reopen as an elementary school. Member Fogarty cast the lone dissenting vote; Mayor Joyce and five other members voted in favor. Superintendent Marie McDonald estimated the district will owe the Massachusetts School Building Authority roughly $500,000 on the Highlands grant and $250,000 on Old South grants, with repayment terms to be negotiated. Councilor and Town Council President Peter Morin warned the closure would create "two different models of education in Braintree," with South Braintree students concentrated within two blocks of Peach Street and Proctor Road while the rest of the town retains neighborhood schools. Fogarty argued for delay, citing conflicting capacity figures from two consultants, ERS put Old South's capacity at 462 students against Sanborn's earlier figure of 564, and the absence of a plan for the Highlands building once vacated.