Lexington School Building Committee backs Option Four for new high school exterior

LEXINGTON -- June 22, 2026, Lexington School Building Committee narrows high school exterior to Option Four red brick design. The committee reached consensus at its June 22 special meeting in favor of Option Four, a full-height red brick scheme that eliminates the lighter buff-colored base band previously featured in Option One, the original design submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Chair Kathleen Lenihan polled all twelve voting members and found a clear majority, including members Chuck Palazzo, Carolyn Kosnoff, John Himmel, Julie Hackett, Mark Barrett, Mike Cronin, Joe Patto, and Steve Bartha, in the Option Four column, with Andrew Baker and member Dan preferring variations closer to Option One or a hybrid. No formal roll-call vote was recorded; Lenihan declared the direction by consensus. The committee directed architect SMMA to return with a cost comparison for porcelain tile versus metal panel at the stairwell accents, a refined study of the textured Flemish-bond brick on the building's end walls, and a possible limited lighter-color treatment at the Worthen Road arcade entry, all refinements that must be resolved before the structural steel package issues in August in support of a September 2029 building opening.