New life for old schoolhouse

The town of Franklin, Mass., is negotiating with Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School on a lease of the historic Red Brick School building to run through next June, and possibly beyond. The future of the 175-year-old one-room schoolhouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, came into question after voters turned down a $2.8 million override in June. The School Committee decided to stop using the building as a public school and declare it surplus.