Charles Crisafulli
School Committee member Amy Zuccarello took time at the beginning of the meeting to acknowledge the death of Charles Crisafulli, a Belmont native and long-time public school educator.
“Those like me who grew up in Belmont or who have been in Belmont schools for any period of time over the last 40 years…would have had the opportunity to cross paths with Mr. Crisafulli,” Zuccarello said.
Crisafulli died March 22 at the age of 93.
He spent his career teaching and then as principal at multiple Belmont schools. Most notably, he was the first principal at Wellington Elementary School. Crisafulli retired in 1990.
“We give our condolences to Charlie and his family for all of his dedicated service development during his time as a teacher and principal,” Zuccarello said.
Community Path Easements
The committee approved easements for the Community Path project. According to project officials, construction is expected to start in summer 2028.
“I think this is going to be really huge for a difference in how students can get to school [and] hopefully we’ll have a very positive impact on the traffic,” said Holly Muson, chair of the Community Path Project Committee.
During construction, MBTA service will be temporarily suspended while an underpass is installed — a process that engineer Kimberly Miller said will take about a week.
The Community Path Project has been considered for more than two decades. In 2019, the town selected Nitsch Engineering to design the path. Phase 1 will run from the Fitchburg Cutoff Path at the Cambridge line to the Clark Street bridge.
When Phase 2 is finished, it will complete a 2-mile link in the Mass Central Rail Trail, which will eventually run 104 miles from Boston to Northampton.
Student Services Director
The committee voted unanimously to appoint Jonathan Libby to a three-year term as the Student Services Director for the district. Libby has been serving as the interim director since September, and first joined the district in 2019 as the assistant director of Student Services.
“The School Committee feels that the agreement supports the continuity and leadership in the Student Services Department, which is critical for many of our students and families,” School Committee Chair Meghan Moriarty said.