District news

City recommended separate projects for Ward and Underwood schools

Newton Public Schools · By Ben Guzovsky · Published Aug 16, 2026, 6:25 AM UTC · Board record: Jun 1, 2026

Facilities

Excerpt from Newton School Committee Meeting, June 1, 2026 — 6-1-26 Regular School Committee Meeting- Minutes - Draft - REVISED.pdf for City recommended separate projects for Ward and… — Official source excerpt: Newton School Committee Meeting, June 1, 2026 — 6-1-26 Regular School Committee Meeting- Minutes - Draft - REVISED.pdf; editorial caption by Our School Board · source-evidence

What happened

A city study recommended against combining Ward and Underwood. On June 15 the committee voted 9-0 to support separate new buildings for each school and kept the building order: Ward, Underwood, Brown, then South.

Why it matters to families

Both neighborhood schools would stay open. Separate buildings cost about $9 million more than one combined school and would likely need a voter-approved tax increase (debt exclusion).

The evidence

The June 1 minutes state that a combined school could grow to about 600 students and require a roughly 660-student facility, then record broad support for proceeding with separate projects.

The source

June 1, 2026 School Committee minutes

See the full record for Newton Public Schools.

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