Two Needham commissions will vote on the future of Warner Field on Thursday, July 23, and Friday, July 24, deciding whether the recreational sports field adjacent to Pollard Middle School can be converted for the town's $325.4 million school building project.

The Conservation Commission takes up the "Pollard Middle School Project: Warner Field – Article 97 Vote" at its virtual meeting Thursday, July 23, at 7 p.m. via Zoom. The Park and Recreation Commission follows Friday, July 24, at 9 a.m. to discuss both the Article 97 vote and a Warner Field Memorandum of Agreement.

Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution protects conservation and recreation land from conversion. Under state law, any municipality seeking to convert such land must conduct an alternatives analysis and meet replacement land standards before submitting documentation to the state.

Park and Recreation Commission Chair Michelle Geddes and Director Stacey Mulroy will lead the Friday meeting, which includes a public Q&A period beginning at 9:45 a.m. The agenda was posted with the Town Clerk on Monday, July 21.

Warner Field will be unavailable during construction. The new school is scheduled to begin construction in fall 2028 following summer demolition, with restoration of Warner Field and adjacent parking lots targeted for fall 2031, according to timelines construction manager Brendan O'Malley of BOND Building Construction presented at a Wednesday, May 20, neighborhood forum for Pollard abutters. The full project is planned to conclude in January 2032.

"It's a very complicated site. There are a lot of utility relocations, a high water table, you've got the MBTA tracks in there. It's challenging," O'Malley said at the School Building Committee's Monday, June 8, meeting, where the committee voted unanimously to endorse the $325.4 million design for a new 265,572-square-foot school for grades 6-8 at the rear of the current Pollard site on Harris Avenue.

The Park and Recreation Commission has legal jurisdiction over recreational land in Needham. At a November 2025 working group convened by Superintendent Dan Gutekanst, commission members noted the commission had been willing to agree to a land swap involving DeFazio Park in 2016 in anticipation of land being needed for future school construction.

The specific terms of the Warner Field MOA have not been made public.

The Select Board voted Monday, July 21, on placing a debt exclusion override question on the Tuesday, November 3, ballot. Town Meeting is scheduled to vote on authorizing the debt on Monday, October 19. The MSBA has a scope and budget vote scheduled for Wednesday, August 26.