Town-Academy Report
Since chartered in 1798, Milton Academy has enjoyed a mutually beneficial and supportive relationship with the Town of Milton and remains committed to being a good neighbor and contributing to the town community. As a not-for-profit educational institution, the School is appreciative of the many ways public services provided by the town benefit the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff.
In addition to voluntary payments to the town, Milton Academy provides substantial direct and indirect contributions, including cash and item donations, meeting and event hosting, and access to athletic facilities. This report shares more about the ways in which the School specifically supported the Town of Milton in 2018–2019.
Direct Donations to the Town of Milton
In 2018–2019, Milton Academy voluntarily paid approximately $125,000 to the town’s general fund, which was among the largest donations by any nonprofit in the Town of Milton.
Also in fiscal year 2019, the School donated $7,500 to the Milton Police Department in support of the Police Community Cookout event and other efforts. An additional $7,500 was donated to the Milton Fire Department for the purchase of Rescue Task Force equipment for firefighters called into emergent, possibly dangerous situations.
Educating Milton’s Children
In any given year, Milton Academy educates approximately 210 children of Milton town residents who pay property taxes and choose not to use the public school system. The School is pleased to be able to educate many children who live in the town. In 2018–2019, more than 20 percent of the School’s student body hailed from the Town of Milton, receiving $1.35M in financial aid. This number of students is more than six times greater than the number of children who live on the School’s campus and attend Milton Public Schools (MPS). At the MPS budget expenditure of $14,000 per student, the School’s education of town-resident children provides an annual value to the town of approximately $2.5M after accounting for children who live on the School’s campus and attend MPS.
Maintaining and Improving Milton’s Infrastructure
For 20 years, the School has paid the energy costs of the town’s street lights and crosswalk flood lights that run along Centre Street from main campus to east campus. In 2018–2019, the School paid $7,200 directly to Eversource to support operation of Centre Street’s lights. When the town has requested it, the School has financially contributed to major infrastructure projects that are adjacent to or otherwise benefit the School (see appendix for a list of previous projects).
Supporting Community Organizations
The School was pleased to donate approximately $23,500 in fiscal year 2019 to town-related organizations. To ensure the gifts given can be of a meaningful size and high impact, the School is specifically focused on giving to organizations aligned with its mission. The School sent cash donations of $1,000 or more to the Milton Foundation for Education, the Milton Library Foundation, ¡Celebrate Milton!, Milton Playground Planners, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton, and We are Milton. The School’s donations included library furniture given to Milton Public Schools valued at $1,500.
Sharing Our Campus
Access to the Academy’s facilities has long been part of the relationship between the town and the School, reducing the need for the town to build or maintain additional recreation and park areas. Outdoor access to the School’s track, tennis courts, and fields is provided for free. Use of facilities such as the ice rink, squash courts, and outdoor pool is provided on a fee basis, typically discounted, to community organizations. Town youth sports—including lacrosse, softball, and ice hockey—have usage agreements with the School that together comprise hundreds of hours.
Beyond the access provided to Milton Academy’s athletic facilities, the School:
Offers the Saturday Course
Town children who attend the Academy’s Saturday Course experience a wide-ranging curriculum focused on inquiry and research skills. The program reserves more spots for accepted Milton residents than for residents of other surrounding municipalities; 143 students from the town registered for the program in the 2018–2019 school year.
https://www.milton.edu/k8/lower-school/saturday-course
Maintains a child care center
The School’s child care center, contracted with Bright Horizons, is open to residents of the Town of Milton.
http://child-care-preschool.brighthorizons.com/MA/Milton/miltonacademy
Operates the Nesto Gallery
Nesto Gallery events are free and open to the public. The gallery hosts six professional art shows annually (visual arts exhibitions and events).
www.www.milton.edu/arts/nesto-gallery
Produces student performances / art shows
The School plans four main stage productions, two dance concerts, and three studio plays each year. All are free to the public. www.www.milton.edu/academics/academic-departments/performing-arts
Facilitates officer training
The School annually offers the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (MetroLEC) SWAT use of its campus, outside of the academic year, to conduct officer training activities.
Hosts multiple outside events and meetings on campus each year
The School offers cultural events and appearances by nationally recognized speakers, which are free and open to the public, private events in support of local organizations (e.g., Milton Library Foundation fundraising dinner), and regular meetings (e.g., AA meetings). The School also features three college fairs each year that are open to all town residents.
Making a Difference in Milton’s Community
More than 200 students have weekly volunteer commitments to partner organizations in the Town of Milton, including the Milton Residences for the Elderly (Winter Valley and Unquity House), Milton Public Schools’ elementary schools, Milton’s food pantry, and the Milton-Quincy Mustangs Special Olympics team practices. Another 250 students volunteer in other activities such as Special Olympics tournaments, blood drives, and holiday-giving events (including the Milton Residents Fund). Milton Academy’s Community Engagement Program (www.www.milton.edu/about/community-engagement) also holds an annual Community Engagement day, where hundreds of students participate in outdoor clean-up projects with Milton institutions, such as Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton, the Department of Public Works, Parks & Recreation Department, Town Hall, Blue Hills Reservation (Houghton’s Pond, Trailside Museum, and Brookwood Farm), and the Neponset River Waterway Association. In addition, a handful of graduating-senior projects each year indirectly or directly benefit the town. Projects have included a documentary about the Milton Food Pantry and its clients; an analysis of fishing at Turner’s Pond; and volunteering at a local day care, the Cunningham and Glover elementary schools, and the hospital.
The School maintains a Campus Safety department 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The department includes a team of 17 Campus Safety officers, six of whom maintain Massachusetts EMT certification. Milton Academy cruisers patrol campus grounds and the surrounding area, handling all campus traffic and incidents. Campus Safety enjoys a strong working relationship with the Milton Police and Fire departments, offering personnel and equipment when requested in emergency situations (typically for roadblocks and traffic control). Back-up is also provided by Campus Safety during town events, including safe zones during the Milton Road Race.
Local Economy
Milton Academy is one of Milton’s largest employers, with roughly 350 full-time employees; an additional 140 employees are part-time, per-diem, or seasonal. In 2018–2019, the School paid $15.2M in salaries and benefits to approximately 175 employees who live in the Town of Milton. Of these, approximately 70 live in privately owned residences, not on School property.
In addition to being a large area employer, the School contracts with many small businesses in the Town of Milton. In fiscal year 2019, the School paid approximately $2.5M to Milton businesses and organizations for services such as landscaping, construction, photography, and catering.
The School’s resident faculty and boarding populations (~320 students) regularly patronize local businesses, as do thousands of campus visitors annually. Every year, several families already enrolled at the School purchase homes in Milton in order to be closer to the campus.
Services Received from the Town of Milton
Milton Academy benefits from services provided by the town—such as road maintenance and plowing, traffic lights, police, fire, and access to ambulance services—and is committed to supporting the town, including in the ways described in this report. As noted above, the School has financially contributed, upon request by the town, to major infrastructure projects that are adjacent to or otherwise align with the School’s mission and operations (see appendix for a list of previous projects).
The Glover School parking lot and Mary C. Lane Playground lot are used for overflow parking during large School events, and the Academy’s Middle School typically uses the field for a few baseball games each year, by advance arrangement. The Upper School football team and/or field hockey team uses Milton High School’s field a couple of times each year, also by advance arrangement.
Milton Academy directly pays for certain services received from the Town of Milton; these include water/sewer fees, storm water fees, building department and permit fees, and service fees to the police and fire departments (e.g., in support of special events). To avoid impacting town resources, the Academy uses well water for cooling towers and irrigation and contracts privately for trash/recycling/composting.
About the Academy
Milton Academy was chartered in 1798 by the Massachusetts legislature and is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational institution. Focused on academic excellence and a commitment to developing strong, independent thinkers, the School strives to create an experientially and economically diverse student body. In 2018–2019, more than 1,000 students were enrolled from 24 states and 25 countries. Students range in age from Kindergarten through Grade 12, with boarding also offered for students in grades 9-12. Approximately 30 percent of students receive financial aid.
During the summer, the School serves as the home to the Steppingstone Foundation, a program that prepares motivated Boston Public School students for education opportunities that lead to college. In addition, the School provides a base of operations for other independently run sports camps and clinics; in 2018–2019, these included lacrosse, basketball, and athletic conditioning programs.
The School sits on approximately 130 acres. Most of this property originated as farmland; as such, town records indicate that the campus has remained approximately the same size for many years.
Appendix
Milton Academy Financial Contributions to Recent Town Infrastructure Projects
When the town has requested it, the School has financially contributed to major infrastructure projects that are adjacent to the School.
Milton Academy Direct Impact on Town of Milton
Milton Academy Indirect (Community) Impact on Town of Milton
Questions
Any inquiries related to this report should be directed to the Milton Academy Communication Office at 617-898-2395.
Please note that all data in this report is based on the 2019 fiscal year.