Chenery Upper Elementary School, Belmont Public Schools (BPS), and town officials recently presented a plan to replace the school’s roof — the final of three major renovations to the building.
According to initial estimates, the roof work is expected to cost $4.2 million.
The town is eligible for a partial reimbursement through the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), said Town Administrator Patrice Garvin. The reimbursement would come out to about $1.1 million.
The remainder of the project is proposed to be funded through free cash allocated for the school’s capital projects in fiscal year 2025; Belmont’s general stabilization fund; and the Kendall Fund, a municipal reserve holding insurance proceeds from a 1999 fire at the Kendall School.
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Plans and cost estimates are expected to be finalized around June, said Facilities Director David Blazon. The town will likely request Town Meeting approval for the funds at a fall Town Meeting, with the goal of repairing the roof in summer 2027, he added.
Chenery’s History
After the original Chenery building burned down in 1995, the current building was constructed in 1997.
Now nearly 30 years old, much of the building’s infrastructure is reaching the end of its life expectancy.
“They’re all working, they’ve reached their life expectations, so that’s why we’re doing the roof,” Blazon said. “The roof will leak from time to time, and we send a roofing company over there to repair the roof. We want to make sure everything underneath is safe and not impacted by roof leaks.”
The school’s boilers were replaced last summer after Town Meeting allocated $1.6 million in 2024 for the boiler replacement.
This summer, the rooftop air handling units will be replaced with air-source heat pumps. Town Meeting allocated $3.7 million for the project in 2025, though the final cost will be about $3.2 million, Blazon said.
Aside from infrastructure upgrades, the first phase of the Chenery Park Project broke ground in January.
According to Recreation Director Brandon Fitts, the project became necessary after grade reconfigurations moved students from the middle school to the combined middle and high school, and Chenery Middle School became Chenery Upper Elementary School serving grades 4 to 6.
The existing equipment is dated and the drainage on the fields has been an issue, Fitts previously said. In total, the project is estimated to cost close to $3 million.
The park currently has two softball fields, grass fields, a paved area with basketball hoops, a playground with swings and basic structures, open space and two tennis courts.
The project is expected to be finished by the fall.
