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.