Selectmen Eager to See Cost Projections of Middle School Project

With the clock ticking down until the final designs and costs are submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, Tuesday's Selectmen meeting was the perfect opportunity for the School Building Committee to show a wider audience the current status of the proposed Middle School Project.

The Selectmen and the School Building Committee will be drafting an article that asks voters to consider a debt exclusion override to fund construction of the middle school project. 

Hingham was invited by the MSBA to participate in the “Model School” program after studies showed that the damage suffered by the existing Middle School last winter would be financially prohibitive to fix. Following the recommendation of the MSBA, it was decided that the most prudent course of action would be to begin construction on a new Middle School, with the state providing significant reimbursement (a maximum of 44.42%) to counter balance the costs to the town.

Using the current MSBA guidelines, School Building Committee Chairman Raymond Estes said the new school will include a fully equipped gymnasium, an auditorium that can seat 680, a distance learning facility and there will be no classrooms that lack natural light.  Estes said is intended to be energy efficient, sustainable and be an educationally viable facility that the current Middle School seems unable to provide.

“Over the last six months, we’ve socialized the issues with the integrity of the Middle School structure, and the only viable option moving forward is a new school,” said Estes.

Conscious of the fact that the current financial climate may see some Hingham residents reluctant to back this project, Estes was quick to respond saying “I know that when the numbers come out, folks will be comfortable with the fact that we are pursuing the most cost effective solution to this problem.” 

While the renderings of the school were visually pleasing, there was concern amongst the Selectmen that there was a lack of cost projections so close to the MSBA submission date. 

Selectman Bruce Rabuffo wanted to know “a ballpark figure” so that the public would be aware of the cost to the town before the submission to the .   Estes advised that the Building Committee has just “started to crunch the numbers” but was confident that more concrete figures would be available within the week.

John Riley, Chairman of Selectmen, was dismayed with the lack of progress on the sustainable energy issues that he had highlighted in a previous meeting with geo-thermal technology a possible way to bring energy savings to the town. Estes was reluctant to give a definitive answer but promised that this issue would be brought up with Ai3.

Estes was grateful to the Selectmen for the chance to finally present a clearer vision of the Middle School.

"This is for the town," Estes said. "This is not a school project, this is a community project.”

The next step in the continued outreach to the residents of Hingham will be a televised

“We've the opportunity to reach some folks in their living rooms, let them see some renderings if they can’t get to meetings, answer some questions,”  Estes said. “Obviously we have a lot of work ahead of us but this is an important project for the community.”

With the final submission due to the MSBA by the August 19, the Building Committee will be hoping that a well-attended meeting tonight may be able to dispel any concerns or quash any unsubstantiated rumors about the direction of the future Middle School.