Arlington Town Meeting Passes Gibbs School Funding

ARLINGTON, MA—On the heels of the School Committee's decision to pursue the Gibbs Building as the alternative for the town's growing middle school population, Town Meeting members approved the Finance Committee's borrowing of the $2.55 million necessary for the renovation design phase of the building Wednesday night.

Town Meeting members voted 187-7-1 in favor of the Finance Committee's borrowing of the $2.55 million necessary for the renovation design phase for the new building. The School Committee unanimously chose Gibbs over an addition to the Ottoson Middle School on Monday night.

School Committee Chair Jennifer Susse told the decision to use the new building as either a sixth grade facility or a 6-8 grade facility has not yet been made, but financial projections for the project will use the sixth grade-only model. The School Committee is set to discuss that decision at a later date.

Susse also told Patch that the earliest a decision would come on the matter would be May 26.

According to a report by HMFH Architects, the renovation of the Gibbs building would cost an estimated $19.9 million.