With Keefe Tech Seeking New Building, Framingham Leaders Urge Collaboration

FRAMINGHAM - As leaders at Keefe Regional Technical School look to begin the process of developing a new school building in Framingham, City Council members are urging them to work alongside the municipal government.

The City Council heard from Keefe Tech officials during their meeting on Tuesday, August 19, for a review of how a feasibility study related to a new school building will be paid for. Keefe’s initial budget request from the local government for the 2026 fiscal year included $600,000 for a study, but a reduction to a health insurance line item was able to save Framingham about $303,000, according to a memo from Keefe Tech. Keefe Tech anticipates that the feasibility study will cost $2 million on the surface, but they also anticipate that the Massachusetts School Building Authority will reimburse $1.2 million—leaving their actual bill for the study at $800,000. From there, $200,000 is set to be provided from their capital stabilization fund carried over from FY25, while that $400,000 health insurance reduction would result in $200,000 being taken from the school’s FY26 budget to cover the study’s cost.

Keefe Tech did not go to bond for the study, in spite of requests from some City Councilors in the past to do so, but Superintendent Jonathan Evans told legislators that school leaders have been trying to be considerate of the larger economic situation locally.

“We’re excited to go forward with the process with the support of our member communities,” Evans said on Tuesday.

“We look forward to exploring what kind of a building project we might be able to do, what it would mean so that we can continue to serve the students of Framingham and our four other communities.”

At-Large City Councilor George King had still wished that the school had bonded the request, given how big of a project a new school building’s development could be and given how much of a partner the municipal government—which represents a massive portion of Keefe Tech’s student base and investment share—would be throughout that process; King said it could end up being the biggest capital project in Framingham’s history. City Council members were generally in support of the idea on Tuesday, as District 8’s Leslie White Harvey and Phil Ottaviani of District both called the school a “gem.”

District 4 City Councilor Michael Cannon, however, noted that local officials will have to consider all financial options for the plan.

“We’re all raving fans of Keefe Tech,” Cannon continued, “but we’re charged to make difficult decisions and we don’t just get to be cheerleaders, unfortunately.”

Evans agreed with members of the council that a positive collaboration between the local government and the school is required in order to make a new building at Keefe Tech a reality.

“It’s going to be hundreds of millions of dollars, it’ll be an enormous expense—hopefully with a lot of reimbursement…but please know that it is our intention to communicate and collaborate on our path forward,” Evans said.