Lexington Boards Lean Toward December 8 for High School Debt Exclusion Vote

LEXINGTON -- June 30, 2025, Lexington's Select Board and School Committee split over whether to hold the high school debt exclusion referendum on November 17 or December 8. The two boards convened jointly on June 30 to receive an Article 97 briefing from SMMA engineer Erin Prostilio, who said the proposed site plan maintains 36.8 acres of protected open space with no net loss, and to debate a timeline that targets a special town meeting November 3-4 and a July 2026 groundbreaking. State Representative Michelle Ciccolo, appearing remotely, estimated the required two-thirds legislative vote would take "six months at the outside." Multiple board members, including Vice Chair Jill Hay and Joe Pato, expressed concern that printing and mailing ballots for a November 17 vote could require ballot preparation before town meeting has even acted, and that residents would not yet have the MSBA's official grant figure, expected October 29, in hand. No date was set; outgoing Select Board Chair Doug Lucente called on the board to resolve the question at its July 7 meeting.