High School All-Purpose Field
At a glance
- What: $150K for an all-purpose field at Auburn High School (Article 3) and repurposing school capital funds (Articles 4 and 6).
- Where it stands: funding source clarified (free cash or stabilization) and the Select Board recommended Articles 3, 4 and 6 on Oct 13; the project is still about $150,000 short.
- Next: Special Town Meeting - October 27, 2026. Companion article: Accessible Activity Bus.
Background and questions
- A $150,000 down payment was approved years earlier (staff cited 2019; the CFO cited the May 2024 annual meeting) and borrowed June 29, 2026; nothing else was funded.
- Dori Vecchio said the field was missing from the capital plan and promised a longer-range plan. Jennifer Stannic and R.J. Scaza described the shock pad test and spring replacement plan.
- The reallocation takes school capital money set aside for repaving the Binmar school parking lot (name as heard); a parent asked about the long-term parking plan.
- Eric Richards asked about $300,000 said to have been advanced by the School Committee in June 2026; the CFO said the school received no cash.
Sources
Discussion time
About 26 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-19 - Pre-Town Meeting | 13 |
| 2026-10-13 - Select Board | 13 |
Log
- 2026-10-14 - School Committee - School Committee heard that the superintendent and business manager asked the Select Board (Oct 13) to repurpose funds for the all-purpose field this spring; field projects to be added to the capital plan at the next meeting. See School Capital Improvement Plan.
- 2026-10-19 - Pre-Town Meeting - Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6 taken together at the pre-Town Meeting: the $150,000 down payment was borrowed; no estimate yet (ballpark $650,000); the field was never in the capital plan; shock pad passes testing but may last only about another year; plan to replace in spring.
- 2026-10-13 - Select Board - Articles 3, 4 and 6 taken together and recommended (at least one member voting reluctantly). Members criticized reallocating leftover capital funds; superintendent said the project is still about $150,000 short ($550,000 lined up) and further free cash would wait for spring Town Meeting.
- 2026-10-21 - Page created from public town materials and news coverage (retrieved 2026-10-21); no meeting transcript processed yet.
- 2026-09-23 - Finance Committee - Finance Committee recommended Articles 3, 4 and 6 together, about $550,000 in all with an existing set-aside; no engineering or final price yet.
- 2026-09-14 - Select Board - Superintendent R.J. Scaza described about $550,000 in funding sources (set-aside, requested article, repurposed amounts, parking lot project money); replacement planned for spring.