Wrentham Select Board unanimously backs $106.5 million new Roderick Elementary School

WRENTHAM — February 26, 2026 — Wrentham Select Board endorses $106.5 million Roderick Elementary School project and approves a $2.5 million land purchase. The board voted 4-0 Thursday night to back the Roderick School Building Committee's recommendation to submit to the Massachusetts School Building Authority a proposal for a new, just-over-100,000-square-foot elementary school, with Vice Chair Michelle Rouse presiding in the absence of Chair Christopher Gallo. Building Committee Chair Phil Jordan reported roughly $2.3 million in new value-engineering cuts — all outside MSBA reimbursement — bringing the design below $812 per square foot; $925,000 in MassSave rebates and up to $4 million in federal Inflation Reduction Act funds could further reduce the town's net borrowing cost. A $917,000 traffic signal at Randall Road was included as an "add alternate," leaving the board flexibility to decline that expenditure after further study. In a separate 4-0 vote, the board authorized the $2.5 million purchase of a 65-acre parcel at 2095 West Street, with the closing expected within days.