Wellesley Schools Plan Fall Town Meeting Ask For AC Funding

Wellesley Public Schools is moving toward asking the Fall Special Town Meeting for design funds to air condition four school buildings, following a unanimous School Committee vote in May 2026 to move ahead with electrical upgrades and window units.

TOWN HALL

National Grid's utility work in Wellesley Square continues to reshape traffic downtown. The town's News Flash warns of new detours on Central Street from Aug. 17 through Aug. 21, affecting both eastbound and westbound lanes of Central Street and Route 135 as the project continues. Drivers should expect delays and plan alternate routes through the square during the workweek.

SCHOOLS

Wellesley Middle School and the Bates, Fiske and Schofield elementary schools, the district's four buildings without centralized air conditioning, are in line for upgrades after the School Committee voted unanimously in May 2026 to install window units and upgrade electrical systems following small-scale classroom pilots that outperformed expectations. Funding for a feasibility study was approved at Annual Town Meeting in April 2025, and the district now plans to request design funds at the Fall Special Town Meeting.

Families also have new dates to track. The PowerSchool Parent Portal opens Aug. 19 and runs through Sept. 9, giving families a window to confirm emergency contacts and other permissions ahead of the first day of school on Sept. 2. Registration for the 2026-27 school year remains open for new students in grades K-12; children who turn five by Aug. 31, 2026, are eligible for kindergarten.

COMMUNITY & ARTS

Wellesley Free Library is highlighting progress on its Hills Branch renovation this week as part of a "Project Progress Spotlight" the library posted to its site, with more updates promised as the transformation continues.

The library's summer calendar also closes out with several concrete offerings: a Digital Sunset Photography workshop for smartphone users runs Aug. 19 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Jackie's Room, paired with a Painting in the Garden watercolor session the same evening on the Main Library terrace. The season wraps with an End of Summer Ice Cream Party for all ages Aug. 22 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Main Library.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS

"Historical narrative, what happened in Wellesley on the first V-J Day, Aug. 14, 1945," per The Swellesley Report, and a companion piece from Wellesley Patch AM both revisited how Wellesley Square marked Japan's surrender 81 years ago this week, drawing on a resident's recollections of the day. (read it at https://theswellesleyreport.com/2026/08/historical-narrative-what-happened-in-wellesley-on-the-first-v-j-day-aug-14-1945/)

"High School Track and Field Teams Room | Wellesley, MA," per the town's website, reports that a new modular Teams Room building for the high school's track and field program is scheduled for delivery the week of Aug. 23, with Page Construction overseeing the project. (read it at https://wellesleyma.gov/2673/High-School-Track-and-Field-Teams-Room)

COMING UP

The week ahead is packed at the library. A Made to a Tee doll-shirt decorating session for tweens runs Aug. 17 from 4 to 5 p.m., followed Aug. 18 by Trivia Night at Lockheart Restaurant from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and a Crazy for the Classics teen program on Zoom from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19 also brings a Mobile Movie screening of "Tron: Ares" off-site from 8 to 11 p.m. and Fells Garden Storytime at 10:30 a.m.

Thursday, Aug. 20 offers Flower Arranging with Land's Sake Farm from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and a Social Worker Hour at 2:30 p.m., both at the Main Library. The Friday Morning Book Group meets Aug. 21 at 10 a.m., and the Hills Book Chat convenes Aug. 22 at 11 a.m., the same day as the library's End of Summer Ice Cream Party.

Compiled from official town feeds, community organizations, and local press. Outside reporting is attributed inline.