FRAMINGHAM - During their meeting on Wednesday, October 16, members of the Framingham School Committee urged other local leaders to consider education factors while developing their plans for the MBTA Communities Act.

Framingham officials have been working on a plan to fall in line with the state law—which mandates that communities with MBTA service must have at least one multi-family district created in its zoning as of right—for months. The law itself does not mandate that anything specifically be built; it only accounts for zoning.

Framingham could be out of compliance with the MBTA Communities Act by the end of 2024, putting the city at risk of missing out on state funding for local projects.

The recent proposal from the Framingham Planning Board features zoning for about 4,500 units across the city, in areas such as the downtown, Shoppers World, Nobscot, and Saxonville. With that in mind, School Committee members like Chair Jessica Barnhill of District 8 asked leaders to consider factors such as the upcoming elementary school on the city’s south side, early childhood education, transportation, and affordable housing when planning these zoning districts.

Executive Director of Finance and Operations for Framingham Public Schools (FPS) Lincoln Lynch explained what the potential impact of the current proposed zoning could be. Research from school officials show that .15 students per unit are expected through the zoning that’s currently pitched, according to Lynch. That figure multiplied by the 4,355 units required to be in compliance with the MBTA Communities Act would result in just over 650 new students entering the city’s school system over time. Lynch does not anticipate that all of those units would be built within the span of a year, so FPS would ask for funding based on building progress and the gradual influx of students.

Lynch explained that FPS sees student enrollment go up when the number of sales of single-family homes also increases, as younger families move into homes previously owned by older residents. However, he added that many people are staying in their homes locally, bringing the number of sales down and playing a role in the enrollment decline that the public school district has seen over the past year. He and Superintendent Dr. Robert Tremblay said that many factors will come into play when trying to determine the impact of new zoning measures within Framingham.

“I’m not seeing the apartment complex going up and a ton of students coming in,” Lynch continued.

“So, while we use this formula with the .15 per unit, that is based on historical data and should not be used as the set-in-stone number that will happen. We don’t know until they show up; until they build it and they lease all the apartments.”

District 4 School Committee member Adam Freudberg said that while he appreciates the sentiment behind the MBA Communities Act in order to make Framingham an attractive place to live, he stressed the need for FPS to have a role during this process, as the zoning plan that is eventually approved could impact schools citywide.

“We just need to make sure that our voice is heard…I don’t think the City Council knows and the Planning Board yet knows the 600-plus number of kids that would come from this,” Freudberg said.

“They obviously don’t yet know because we still don’t know what this would mean for the current school building project and the (Massachusetts School Building Authority) application that’s currently before.”

The School Committee motioned to have the Planning Board and City Council consider these school-related factors during this process, as both of those latter groups prepared for their respective public hearing on the MBTA Communities Act. The Planning Board’s meeting is taking place Thursday, October 17 at 7 p.m., while the City Council will be holding their meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 29.

The Planning Board can make recommendations on the plan, but the City Council has the final say on what zoning proposals are accepted, rejected, or amended.