School board votes to cede Heathbrook land for cell tower
School Committee · Meeting of August 19, 2026
Tewksbury School Committee votes 4-0 to hand Heathbrook land to town for a Verizon cell tower. Assistant Town Manager Robert Maynard and Select Board member Eric Ryder told the board the transfer, under General Law Chapter 40, Section 15A, would enable a fall town meeting warrant article for a 10-year ground lease with two five-year extensions on about 5,625 square feet at 199 Shawsheen Street. Chair Bridget Garabedian said "it worries me" that engineering details, including wiring routed through the playground, remain unsettled before an RFP is even issued.
Members also approved PK-12 student handbook updates, adopted the GBEC drug-free workplace policy, raised the ISET secretary rate from $20.77 to $24.62, and certified payrolls of $1,576,175.64 and $1,546,840.89. Member Chris Kingston was absent.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,443 words
Source: the School Committee meeting of August 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Keep reading with a 30-day free trial
Subscribe to Tewksbury News to keep reading this post and get 30 days of free access to the full post archives.
Starting a trial requires a payment method. After 30 free days your subscription begins at the price shown at checkout and renews automatically until you cancel. You can cancel anytime from your account. Subscription terms
A subscription gets you:
- Subscriber-only posts and full archive
- Post comments and join the community
- 24x7 access to local news