School Facilities Report to Tackle High School Too

A look at the future of school buildings in Hamilton and Wenham should take into consideration the high school and middle school, the school superintendent told the Hamilton Board of Selectmen on Monday night.

Dr. Raleigh Buchanan said that a should also include a look at the high school and middle school campus so that Hamilton and Wenham don't "miss an opportunity."

Without taking a look at how the middle and high school fit into the future of the school district's facility needs the school district may look back in 10 years with regrets, he said.

"I don't want the community to miss this opportunity," Buchanan said. "The high school should be the lighthouse of our district."

Buchanan said the high school building should be a facility that helps the district accomplish its curriculum goals, including having space for more foreign language instruction and space for a "virtual high school" where classes taught by teachers via teleconference.

"I'm looking at something that is doable but we need the building to do it," he said.

Regional School Committee Chairwoman Alexa McCloughan said she has asked the consultants, Dore and Whittier, to go back and include information about the high school and middle school buildings, which share the same campus on Bay Road.

Buchanan and McCloghan's comments came on Monday night and school and town officials in both communities start to come up with a way to take the consultant's report to the next step.

"I think it's time to get this moving," Hamilton Selectmen Chairman Jennifer Scuteri said.

It's likely a committee made up of members appointed by the Boards of Selectmen in both town and the School Committee would look at the report and decide what, if any, construction ore renovation project should be pursued.