Hello and Happy Sunday, Neighbor!

The topic of Fox Hill and Pine Glen has been top of mind for a lot of Burlingtonians lately. These two schools (along with the high school) are facing serious dilemmas and need significant renovations or to be rebuilt.

Last year, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) accepted Fox Hill into their program, and the school is expected to be rebuilt within the next 5-6 years. However, the MSBA accepted Fox Hill under the understanding that the Building Committee would look into combining the Fox Hill and Pine Glen schools. According to various sources, the School Committee requested that the MSBA allow us to look at both a 3-school model (combining FH and PG) and a 4-school model (keeping the current configuration).

The decision between these two models will have to be made soon, though, in order to plan and design the new school building to be constructed on Fox Hill’s campus. The School Committee voted that they wanted to maintain a 4-school model, and several candidates have campaigned on that model, but depending on what the state finds, the choice might not be an easy one.

Last year, Town Meeting approved a $1.5m feasibility study for Fox Hill (required by MSBA), and as a part of their work investigating 3- versus 4-school models, the group is doing a partial feasibility study at Pine Glen, as well, said BPS Superintendent Dr. Eric Conti at Town Meeting earlier this week. That was just before Town Meeting approved another $1.5m for a feasibility study at the high school. With all the work that needs to be done, and with the high school failing to secure MSBA funding despite applying for the last 12 years in a row, the town will be in for some serious capital outlays in the next 5-10 years.

You will definitely want to keep an eye on this conversation. Two meetings are happening this week—first, the Fox Hill School Building Committee will meet on Tuesday, and then on Thursday there will be a public community forum. My understanding is that this will be a presentation on their progress to this point with a Q&A afterward. Once that meeting happens, the Buzz will post some reflections and other ways to reach out and get involved.

You can learn more about the Fox Hill project at their website. Christine Monaco, School Committee Member, also posted the past and upcoming meetings of the Building Committee on her Facebook page.

This Week in Burlington

Meetings and Events

As always, our library has a host of amazing events for people of all ages. A selection of those events are featured below, but consult their full calendar for the entire program!

Monday, May 15

• 9:00 AM – Planning Board Subcommittee – The District (Town Hall Annex)
• 5:30 PM – Zoning Bylaw Review Committee Sign Subcommittee (TBD and virtual)
• 7:00 PM – Discover India Series: Beyond Chicken Tikka (virtual library event; register)
• 7:00 PM – Teen Advisory Group at the library

Tuesday, May 16

• 10:30 AM – Current Events Discussion Group at the library
• 4:00 PM – Still Life Drawing: Nature (Grades 3-8 library program; register)
• 6:00 PM – School Committee Joint Fox Hill School Building Subcommittee (BHS and virtual)
• 6:30 PM – General Bylaw Review Committee (virtual)
• 7:00 PM – Board of Appeals (Public Hearings to begin at 7:30 PM at Town Hall)

Wednesday, May 17

• 10:30 and 11:30 AM – Toddler and Preschool Story Time at the library
• 6:30 PM – Zoning Bylaw Review Committee (virtual)
• 7:00 PM – Historical Commission (Grand View Farm)

Thursday, May 18

• 4:00 PM – Mermaid Story & Craft (PreK-Grade 3 library event; register)

• 4:30 PM – Shawsheen Policy Subcommittee (Shawsheen Tech)

• 6:30 PM – Planning Board (Town Hall)

• 7:00 PM – Fox Hill Elementary School Community Forum (Virtual)

  • Overview of:

    • Project schedule/process

    • Educational programming & visioning

    • Site & building studies

Friday, May 19

• 3:30-5:30 PM – Drop in LEGO build at the library: Finish Bowser’s Ship (Grades 3-6)
• 7:00 PM – HELPIS Celebration of Kindness at the American Legion. Tickets here!

Saturday, May 20

• 10:00 AM-1:00 PM – Burlington Community Health Fair (BHS Gym)
• 11:00 AM – Spring Terrariums (PreK-5 library event; register soon—only 5 spaces available)
• 3:00 PM – Mason Jar Lanterns (Grades 6-12 library event; register) to

Sports and Activities

Our Boys’ Volleyball teams played hard and exciting matches yesterday against Essex Tech. JV lost by 2 points in the last possible match, and Varsity won in their last possible match!

We’ve still got plenty of spring sports on the schedule this week, starting tomorrow with volleyball, softball, lacrosse, and tennis.

That’s it for today. Have a great one, Burlington!

Nicci