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	RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION IV - What needs to be done? (The Wellesley Townsman – 01/11/07) The Wellesley High School Preservation Committee through recent articles in the Wellesley Townsman has advocated the creation of a broadly based Wellesley High School Building Committee and the formulation of a Wellesley High School Comprehensive Master Plan (December 28, 2006 and January 4, 2007). We have urged the Board of Selectmen to appoint this building committee, which would include representatives from the School Department, town government, the Wellesley High School Preservation Committee, and an architect who is sensitive to Wellesley’s desire to restore and preserve the entire interior and exterior of the original 1938 Wellesley High School and the 1978 Wilbury Crockett Library. This committee would guide all aspects of the high school building project, including planning, execution, and completion. It would satisfy the requirements set forth by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (963 CMR 2.10: MSBA, September 22, 2006) for reimbursement of state aid for a project such as ours. At the same time, this committee would broaden the MSBA scope, so that Wellesley can achieve transparency and inclusion as well as utilize community expertise in a project of major importance to the town. We envision that this committee, once established, would also formulate and implement a Wellesley High School Comprehensive Master Plan, designed to address short- and long-term needs of the high school. This master plan should be considered in the context of town-wide school planning. This master plan for the high school would enable the town to achieve a broad perspective as it sets priorities and establishes goals for the building, site, and landscape. Preservation and restoration of the 1938 building as the center of the high school should be the main architectural focus of the plan. It should also keep in constant view the relationship between the facilities of the high school and its mission as an educational institution. Expanding from this center, the plan should attend to restoring landscape and green space, providing attractive walkways, improving exterior lighting, enhancing outdoor gathering areas, and beautifying the high school campus. Further, the plan should address the quality of pedestrian and automobile access, including sidewalks and parking. We are fortunate in Wellesley that our institutions of higher learning have adopted and implemented master plans for the development and management of their respective schools. The success of each plan is the result of including in the process representatives from the entire college community. The expertise that our colleges could bring to the Wellesley High School Building Committee and the Wellesley High School Comprehensive Master Plan would be of great benefit to the high school as it continues to meet the highest expectations of the town, both now and in the future.

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