Milton School Committee unanimously rejects school choice, explores La Barre College campus purchase

MILTON -- May 20, 2026, Milton School Committee votes unanimously to opt out of school choice and opens discussion on purchasing the La Barre College campus on Adams Street for a preschool and kindergarten center. The committee, meeting May 20, voted 6-0 to remain a non-choice district for fiscal year 2027, a decision Superintendent John Phelan grounded in elementary overcrowding and class-size concerns, noting the state per-pupil reimbursement of roughly $12,000 falls short of the district's approximately $18,000 per-pupil expenditure. The bulk of the meeting was consumed by Phelan's presentation of six educational program options for the closing college's 4.7-acre Adams Street campus, which must go to market by late August; the leadership team's preferred model would convert the site into an early childhood center combining the district's existing preschool program with kindergarten, potentially serving 410 to 450 students. The committee did not vote on a preferred option, deferring to a June 3 meeting with the Select Board and town administrator Nick Milano; the school building committee has already moved to secure an architect for a feasibility study. Phelan separately reported that offers for director of business and finance and director of instructional technology positions are imminent, and that Milton is close to hiring its first-ever dedicated human resources director.