Watertown School Panel Approves Revised Rental Rules

School Committee · Meeting of April 10, 2026

Watertown's Buildings and Grounds Subcommittee approved a revised school rental agreement, raising custodial fees and phasing in access to the new high school. The subcommittee, with members Justin Middlebrook, Amy Downey and Sheila Kirshen present, voted unanimously to send the updated terms to the full School Committee. Staffer Lisa Gibbons set the custodial charge at "$61 per hour with a minimum of $183" and recommended aligning for-profit rental rates with Belmont and Arlington, both recent new-high-school districts.

The panel agreed the high school gym could open to nonprofit renters as soon as 2027-28, with the auditorium waiting longer. A resident of Edenfield Street pressed the superintendent on security at the soon-to-be-vacant Moxley building, warning "the longer that sits vacant, the more brazen the activity is going to become."

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Source: the School Committee meeting of April 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

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