Superintendent Gilligan To Request MSBA Funds For Middle School

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover Public Schools Superintendent Gregg Gilligan will again seek state money to expand and renovate the middle school, he said in the district's monthly newsletter this week. The district has twice been rejected by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, Gilligan notes, but often it takes three or four submissions to get money. The district will ask the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen to support the submission, in the coming weeks.

The Authority funds up to 40 percent of construction costs when it partners with school districts. The town and district have begun looking at alternative funding sources, however, according to the superintendent.

"Although the Town Manager and I remain committed to collaborating and partnering with the MSBA, we have also agreed that the middle school expansion project will be included as part of the Town’s Facilities Master Plan II," Gilligan wrote. "This will ensure that the needs of NAMS will be taken into account during the Town’s decision-making process on the continued modernization and/or replacement of public facilities. In addition, we remain committed to exploring all building and capital options to determine how to best address our capital needs in order to serve our students and neighbors in the most fiscally responsible manner."

At a November School Committee meeting, Gilligan explained the need to expand and renovate the school: it is much larger than most middle schools in the area, has larger class sizes and has out-of-date science labs, among other issues.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.