Ground Broken for Marshall Simonds Middle School Project

The groundbreaking ceremony at attracted dignitaries from the town and the state of Massachusetts. The ceremony, held Friday, June 3, commenced in the lobby of the middle school and ended in a jovial groundbreaking outside the school’s auditorium.

“This new school will present tremendous opportunities for children because of the good will and foresight on our Superintendent, School Committee, Town Meeting and our State Representative,” exhorted Richard Connors, Principal of Marshall Simonds Middle School.

He added that the new larger lockers will be most appreciated. Connors then introduced some young musicians who performed for the assembly. 

Dr. Eric Conti, Superintendent of Schools, gave kudos to the custodial staff and to Director of Finance and Operations, Craig Robinson.

“The reason Burlington can give new life to a 50-year-old building is because it’s been so well maintained over the years,” he stated.

He also thanked Representative Charley Murphy, State Treasurer Steve Grossman, and Executive Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority Katherine Craven for their support of Burlington’s ambitious school projects.

Town Administrator Robert Mercier told the story of how the middle school project, which had been discussed for many years, got a jump start when Craven visited the Memorial School site across Cambridge Street.

“I cringed a bit when she pointed across the street and said ‘That one’s next!’” joked Mercier.  “As a manager, I like redevelopment, but I was thinking; now we’ve got to figure out how to pay for that.”

Selectman Walter Zenkin noted that many departments worked together and sacrifices were made in order to bring the project forward.

Then he quipped “I’ve got a bus out back. We’ll take Katherine on a tour of our other schools. Maybe she’ll point to one of them!”

Craven graciously addressed the crown saying “I am so honored and grateful to be a part of your program today.”

She noted that out of 352 towns in the state, Burlington is unique in its ability to obtain state funding for two school projects at one time.  She expressed her satisfaction with the state’s partnership with Burlington.

“Seventeen million dollars of partnership,” she exclaimed. ”We’ll be back with a giant check in short order!”

According to Steve Grossman, the Massachusetts School Building Authority gets its funding from the Massachusetts sales tax. One cent of each taxable sale goes to this fund.  The MSBA has spent over $8 billion dollars on school projects in the past few years, said Grossman.

Kevin Buckley, of KBA Architects, Inc., is architect of both the Memorial School and Marshall Simonds Middle School.  Buckley stated confidently that the project is to be completed by September 2013. He noted that a renovation presents different challenges than a new building project.

“We must be very cognizant of the students and the staff,” he said soberly. “We have worked out a phasing plan with the superintendent’s office but with a project of this size, the plan will evolve over time.”

Buckley added that temporary classrooms will be moved from the Memorial School site to the middle school and teams of teachers and students will move into those temporary classrooms while their own classrooms are renovated. Buckley also stated that all workers on site at the school will undergo CORI evaluations to insure the safety of children and staffers.

Representative Charley Murphy was in attendance and he said that working for the state is challenging and many difficult decisions must be made.

“It’s nice to come to an event like this and celebrate,” he said warmly.

The party then moved outdoors for the official groundbreaking. A multitude of shovels and hard hats were passed around for the ceremony.  Grossman and Murphy then signed one shovel and presented it to Superintendent Conti.

Selectman Zenkin summed up his feelings about the project with three words.

“It’s about time!” he said.