Select Board Votes Down Accelerated School AC Funding

Select Board · Meeting of October 27, 2026

Wellesley's Select Board voted 2-3 against recommending accelerated air conditioning funding for elementary schools. Chair Marjorie Freiman, Vice Chair Tom Ulfelder and Secretary Colette Aufranc opposed a $170,000 free-cash appropriation to compress Bates and Fisk design to four months; members Kenneth Largess and Beth Sullivan Woods backed it. A related citizen-petition appropriation under Article 15 also failed 2-3.

Resident Britt Kelly, a Schofield Elementary PTO co-president, told the board she found kids "sprawled on tile floors, sweaty and red-faced" during hot weather. Executive Director Meghan Jop announced tentative three-year union contracts totaling $637,691: $141,997 for patrol officers, $126,917 for superior officers and $368,777 for firefighters, all ratified unanimously. The board also deferred a vote on up to $100,000 for White Pond title research pending input from the Natural Resources Commission.

In the full story:

• Executive Director's Update and a Retirement
• Union Tentative Agreements
• Article 14: Elementary School Air Conditioning Design
• [00:43:51] — Secretary Colette Aufranc
• Article 15: Citizen Petition on Accelerated AC Construction Funding
• [01:01:00] — Britt Kelly, Schofield Elementary PTO co-president, public comment
• [01:50:56] — Member Kenneth Largess
• Article 16: White Pond Due Diligence Funding
• [02:36:25] — Michael Tobin, president, Wellesley Conservation Land Trust
• Administrative Matters
• Chair's Report and Scheduling
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,581 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of October 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.