Burlington High School MSBA Subcommittee Reviews Grant Application Ahead of April Deadline

BURLINGTON -- February 12, 2026, Burlington's high school MSBA subcommittee spent two hours reviewing its draft Statement of Interest for a potential state building grant, targeting an April 2026 submission deadline. School Committee Chair Katherine Bond led the informal working session, which lacked a quorum for official votes, alongside a facilities staffer who walked the group through the multi-section Massachusetts School Building Authority form, focusing on three priority categories: accreditation risk, building systems replacement, and obsolete spaces. The draft notes that Burlington has invested more than $8 million in capital projects at the 360,000-square-foot, 1970-era building without a debt exclusion, and that a $150,000 boiler retubing authorized at the 2026 town meeting failed to sustain heating through the season. Members called for reorganizing the document to put the building's missing fire suppression system and NEASC accreditation concerns at the front of key sections, and discussed looping in science department staff and the district's special education director to strengthen sections on program limitations. Bond announced the resignation of subcommittee member Mimi Vicks Highland and welcomed new member Jeff Marsh.