Committee Backs $240,000 AC Acceleration, 4-1

School Committee · Meeting of September 22, 2026

Wellesley School Committee approved $240,000 in extra design funds to speed up air conditioning at Bates and Fiske elementary schools. The 4-1 vote came after parents Leora Simon and Kate Farella described classrooms reaching 80 to 90 degrees, with Secretary Illana Nissenbaum dissenting over "inequity" between schools funded by free cash versus those requiring a debt exclusion. Permanent Building Committee Chair Michael Tauer warned the accelerated schedule eliminates project float time, calling the risk "significant." The same meeting saw the committee vote 3-2 to extend Superintendent David Lussier's contract two years, through June 2029, and vote 4-1 to seek a bylaw change allowing 10-year school transportation contracts, aimed at attracting electric-vehicle bus vendors on a roughly $12 million five-year contract.

In the full story:

• Public Comment: Heat in Elementary Classrooms
• Air Conditioning Project and Special Town Meeting Motion Language
• Transportation Warrant Article and Special Town Meeting Motion Language
• Superintendent Contract
• WPS District Goals
• FY'26 Turnback and FY'28 Draft Budget Calendar
• School Facilities Task Force
• School Committee Policies: ACL and BCA
• Baseball Scoreboard at Sprague Field
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,177 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of September 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.