Regional School District, Safety of Town Roads Up for Votes at Special Town Meeting

WAYLAND, MA - Wayland will hold a Special Town Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 11, to vote on three warrant articles, two of which are related to the town’s relationship with the Minuteman Regional Vocational School District.

Wayland Town Meeting meeting has previously voted to withdraw from the Minuteman Regional Vocational School District, but that vote has been overridden because some of the other member towns have voted against allowing that withdrawal, according to an FAQ posted on the Town of Wayland website.

A new governing agreement with the district, however, is now also up for approval and could allow Wayland to withdraw under the new guidelines. Wayland is among seven of the 16 member towns considering withdrawal. The others are Boxborough, Carlisle, Dover, Lincoln, Sudbury and Weston, the FAQ continues.

That new governing agreement is the second Warrant article up for a vote at Special Town Meeting -- the first being whether to withdraw from the district.

According to information posted on the Town of Wayland website, the Minuteman Regional Vocational School District is in the process of requesting capital funding for a new high school building. Wayland must decide whether to continue its relationship with the district before district representatives make a capital request at Wayland’s Annual Town Meeting in April, hence the Special Town Meeting vote.

In addition to the two articles related to the Minuteman School District, a petitioners’ article requesting several steps that would facilitate additional safety measures on town roads will be up for a vote.

The article outlines several changes including funding and erecting additional speed limit signage to additional enforceable areas, petitioning the state to lower the speed limits on Stonebridge Road, working with Framingham to limit nighttime truck traffic on Stonebridge Road, and appropriating funds to alter Oak Hill Road so as to allow school buses to safely turn on to the road.

The full Warrant is available online.

Special Town Meeting will convene at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11 in the Wayland Middle School auditorium. In the event of inclement weather, the meeting will take place Tuesday, February 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the Wayland Middle School auditorium.