Braintree committee was to decide on new name for old South Middle School. What happened

Fred Hanson, The Patriot Ledger
·2 min read

BRAINTREE − The school committee has postponed naming the former South Middle School until the budget process is completed and the fate of the system's elementary schools has been decided.

The committee was to decide at Monday's meeting on a name for the building, which will house the early education center and most of the system's kindergarten and pre-kindergarten classes. The building is undergoing renovations for its new use.

School committee member Kathleen Tuffy proposed the postponement, saying the committee should wait until after budget deliberations are completed before naming the school.

"It's not urgent," Tuffy said.

Her motion was approved unanimously.

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With the committee still at work on the budget proposal, it will be May or June at the earliest before a decision on the name is made.

The school committee is looking to make $8 million in cuts to the school budget to get down to the $75.5 million budget target set by Mayor Erin Joyce.

The cuts proposed for the elementary schools include eliminating 21 classroom teachers and seven reading and math specialists. New districts would be drawn. Closing one or two elementary schools would save $500,000 but was not among School Superintendent James Lee's recommendations at this week's meeting. His recommendations are not yet complete.

Five in the running for Braintree early education center name

School committee Chair Lisa Fiske Heger said she received nearly 100 letters and emails recommending names for the school. Five men met the criteria set by school committee policy.

Peter Kurzberg, whose 22 years as school superintendent was the longest in town history, had the most support at the March 18 school committee meeting.

Others in contention are:

  • Joseph DeSario, who spent 23 years as a principal at the Colbert, Torrey and Morrison schools and died a decade ago.

  • Army Sgt. Frederick Follette, a Braintree High School graduate who was killed at the age of 21 in 1969 in a mid-air helicopter crash during his second tour of duty in Vietnam.

  • Former Assistant School Superintendent T. Michael Molongoski.

  • Thomas A. Watson, who helped invent the telephone and made numerous contributions to the town, including establishing the Braintree Electric Light Department and the Fore River shipyard, and helped start the kindergarten program during his tenure on the school committee.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Who will the old South Middle School be named for?