Needham voters will decide the fate of a new Pollard Middle School on Tuesday, Nov. 3, after Special Town Meeting approved $322,655,945 for the project in a lopsided 207-21 vote on Oct. 19.

The override question, listed as Question 10 on the ballot, asks whether the town can exceed Proposition 2½ tax limits to cover borrowing for the school's design, construction and demolition on Harris Avenue. If it fails, the town could lose an estimated $80 million reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), School Committee Chair Alisa Skatrud said, according to Needham Local. Re-submitting for that funding would take several years.

Of the 12 Town Meeting members who spoke on the floor, 11 voiced support, the Needham Observer reported. The vote required a two-thirds majority.

School Committee member Michael Greis called it "the most coherent community-wide effort I've ever seen in 30+ years in Town Meeting" at an Oct. 20 School Committee meeting.

Skatrud told the committee that members received close to 80 letters of support ahead of the vote. A few raised concerns, she said, and the committee remains mindful of the project's scale.

One of three Pollard-related warrant articles was withdrawn before the vote. Article 3, a home-rule petition, would have granted a change in use of Warner Field to allow geothermal wells for the new school.

Skatrud explained that a recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling changed the picture. In Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Inc. v. City of Boston, decided Aug. 19, the court found that a parcel in Boston's Franklin Park had been removed from its former park designation and was not subject to Article 97 protections, which govern the conversion of parkland.

That ruling prompted the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) to tell Needham it no longer believed Article 97 approval or an environmental review was needed for the Pollard project. The MSBA agreed with that assessment, Skatrud said. The school committee then recommended the Select Board withdraw the article.

Tax impact

The project would add about 7% to taxpayers' bills over the 35-year life of the debt, according to town estimates reported by the Needham Observer. For the average single-family home, taxes would peak at a $2,065 increase in fiscal year 2034, with an average annual increase of about $1,167, Needham Local reported.

The town's estimated excluded debt is $243 million, though state law does not include a dollar figure in the ballot language.

Finance Committee Chair Barry Coffman supported the article despite a narrow 5-4 committee vote in its favor. He called it "a big ask, a huge ask" at Town Meeting, Needham Local reported.

Former School Committee member Aaron Pressman challenged the town's tax calculator at the meeting. He argued it overstates the impact by assuming a 7% interest rate. Needham's current bonds carry rates of 3.5% and 3.2%, Pressman said, and five other communities with active school projects used rates of 4% or 4.5% in their calculators, the Needham Observer reported.

Student panel set for Oct. 27

Ahead of the ballot vote, Needham High School senior Jack Arvedon, the School Committee's student representative, is organizing a student panel with the high school's Parent Teacher Council. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. in the NHS cafeteria extension space, the Needham Observer reported.

Seventh graders, eighth graders, high school students and college students are expected to speak about their Pollard experiences.

Superintendent Dan Gutekanst urged the community not to let up, saying the work is not finished and asking voters to turn out on Nov. 3.

The two-phased project would begin in mid-2028 and combine grades 6, 7 and 8 under one roof, leaving High Rock School vacant ahead of potential renovations at Mitchell Elementary School.