Arlington School Committee Unanimously Establishes 22-Member Ottoson Middle School Building Committee

ARLINGTON -- April 30, 2026, Arlington School Committee votes to establish 22-member Ottoson Middle School building panel. The committee voted unanimously Thursday to form the OMS Building Committee, a requirement for remaining in the Massachusetts School Building Authority's eligibility period, which runs through November 2026 and could lead to state funding for a major renovation of Ottoson Middle School. The panel includes experts in engineering, architecture, sustainability, and educational space design. In other action, the board voted 6-0 to reaffirm its opt-out from the state inter-district school choice program and, on a motion by member Paul Schlichtman, unanimously backed resubmission of a 2023 resolution to the MASC delegate assembly calling for "full, stable funding" for METCO, a resolution that originally passed 92 to 3. Public commenters Corrado Pecci and retired Waltham Italian teacher Peter Marini urged the board not to "make a permanent decision based on a temporary hiring hurdle" in the face of a possible cut to Arlington High School's Italian language program, which Pecci said serves approximately 80 currently enrolled students.