Milton's Select Board wants the state to fold a study of the former Labarré College property into the town's existing school-building process with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

The board revealed the request at its Tuesday, Oct. 6 meeting, less than two weeks before town meeting members vote on whether to buy the 303 Adams St. property for $11.75 million. The Select Board chair said a joint meeting the prior week with the School Committee, the School Building Committee and Town Administrator Nick Milano produced a consensus to ask the MSBA to include a pre-K and kindergarten study of the Labarré site in the town's current MSBA process.

The chair said the town believes the addition "would not delay or slow down any of the ongoing process that we have now." Milano confirmed that assessment but cautioned that the plan hinges on the MSBA's answer. The town has a meeting with the MSBA scheduled for the week of Tuesday, Oct. 13.

The MSBA has not yet responded.

If the agency agrees, the town would need to amend Article 7 on the Special Town Meeting warrant, which would fund architectural and engineering services for a school at 303 Adams St. Article 7 is contingent on Article 6, the $11.75 million purchase authorization.

Planning Board member challenges advisory group

Planning Board member Maggie Oldfield, of 397 Hillside St., used public comment at the Oct. 6 meeting to push back on a proposed advisory group for the Labarré property.

"Creating an advisory group tonight feels premature," Oldfield said. "It risks confusing residents by suggesting we need to settle development and zoning questions before residents have even voted on whether the town should purchase the property."

Oldfield argued the advisory group's charge covers land use, zoning, community outreach and development, all areas already within the elected Planning Board's jurisdiction. She said the Planning Board was not included in the process of creating the group and has not taken an official vote on the property's use.

She also noted the advisory group's charge calls for coordination with the master plan committee but not the Planning Board. The master plan committee had not yet held its first meeting as of Oct. 6.

Purchase price and appraisals

Article 6 would authorize the Select Board to buy the Labarré property for $11.75 million. The Select Board approved a purchase and sale agreement at that price in September 2026, according to the town's Special Town Meeting page.

Warrant Committee Chair Jay Fundling said on a Thursday, Oct. 8 Milton Access TV preview show that the town appraised the property at roughly $10.9 million, while its public records appraisal stands at $13.6 million. Labarré College had other interested buyers during negotiations, and both sides settled on $11.75 million, Fundling said.

The property is zoned for single-family residential, which allows exempted uses such as a school or church. A 40B development, which does not need to follow local zoning, could also be built there.

The Warrant Committee recommends approval of both Articles 6 and 7. In its written comment published Friday, Oct. 9 in the Milton Times, the committee said buying the property protects the town's ability to control how the site is used, while school use remains the primary consideration.

If Town Meeting approves the purchase, a debt exclusion vote by registered voters is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Timeline ahead

Milano presented a draft MSBA timeline at the Oct. 6 meeting. The designer selection process to pick an architect is underway. A feasibility study is expected to start in November 2026, and the community would decide on site selection in summer 2027.

The Select Board postponed a planned open session with town meeting members on the Labarré acquisition from the week of Oct. 6 to the week of Tuesday, Oct. 13, to let the School Committee hold its own discussion first. The School Committee was scheduled to meet Wednesday, Oct. 7, to discuss both the acquisition and the question of entering the property into study.

The Special Town Meeting begins Monday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at Milton High School.