The Town of Needham is designing a new Pollard Middle School to meet the educational needs of our 1300+ middle school students in grades 6-8.
The Town has been accepted into the Massachusetts State Building Authority (MSBA) program, which provides significant reimbursements to towns to help reduce school building costs.Â
PROJECT GOALS:
        Address aging infrastructure in need of repair or replacement.
The existing Pollard building is over 65 years old: it does not meet modern building, energy, and fire codes and is not ADA compliant. The HVAC, electrical, security and plumbing systems need replacement, along with the roof, windows, railings, ramps, and elevators. A sprinkler system is also needed.
        Provide the space needed for middle school programming.
Both High Rock and Pollard are lacking sufficient space. Most of the classrooms are undersized, as well as common areas such as the libraries, gyms, cafeterias, and performance spaces. Neither building has adequate space for special education, school counseling, and nursing services.
        Reunite grades 6-8 on a single campus.
Relocating 6th grade to High Rock was a temporary solution to overcrowding at Pollard. A reunited school will reduce transitions between schools, expand curriculum offerings for students, and provide the opportunity to develop skills and maturity as modeled by older peers. It will also provide more opportunity for coordination and collaboration of grade 6-8 staff.
HELPFUL LINKS:
Saturday, September 19, 9:00am
Pollard Middle School (200 Harris Ave.)
Saturday, October 17, 9:00am
Pollard Middle School (200 Harris Ave.)
Select Board
Tuesday, September 8, 6:00pm
In person at the Select Board Chambers at Town Hall (1471 Highland Ave) & via Zoom
Finance Committee
Wednesday, September 9, 7:00pm
In person at the Great Plain Room at Town Hall (1471 Highland Ave) & via Zoom
School Building Committee (SBC)
Monday, September 14, 7:55pm
In person at Charles River Room (500 Dedham Ave) & via Zoom
School Committee
Tuesday, September 15, 6:30pm
In person at Broadmeadow Performance Center & via The Needham Channel
Schematic Design (SD)
Completed: August 26, 2026
MSBA Board Approves Schematic Design and Project Scope & Budget Agreement
On August 26, the MSBA Board of Directors approved the Schematic Design and Project Scope and Budget Agreement, the document that formally establishes MSBA's financial participation and reimbursement rate in the project. The MSBA has approved up to $80.6 million in reimbursement, which is almost 25% of the total project budget of $325.4 million.
The Town will now bring the project to the community for authorization through a Special Town Meeting on October 19 and a debt exclusion vote on the Town election ballot on November 3.