For Immediate Release

Friday, March 8, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

*Media Advisory* 

Pentucket Building Committee to Hold Meeting Tuesday

WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew wishes to remind residents that the Pentucket Building Committee is having a meeting next week.

WHEN:

Tuesday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE:

Pentucket Regional High School Cafeteria, 24 Main St., West Newbury

WHAT:

The Pentucket Building Committee is holding a meeting Tuesday, March 12, at Pentucket Regional High School to review updated design renderings for the combined high school/middle school building project, the next steps in the Massachusetts School Board Authority (MSBA) process and a schedule of upcoming community meetings.

“It is important that voters attend the public meetings we have scheduled about this project, familiarize themselves with the information available on the project’s website, and ask myself or another member of the committee any questions they may have,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “We want voters to fully understand what they are voting on this spring, and what this project would offer students in the future.”

Since the committee’s Feb. 13 meeting, the district submitted a schematic design of the building project to the MSBA on Feb. 20. The district will meet with the MSBA in the coming weeks to review the submitted schematic design.

About the Pentucket Building Project

Pentucket Regional School District and the Building Committee have been working with the MSBA since 2015 to develop a building project to meet the needs of the district. The proposed building would solve critical infrastructure concerns facing both the middle and high school buildings, including the HVAC, water and electrical systems at the high school.

A 2015 report found that the high school’s HVAC and electrical systems are in  “imminent danger of possible failure.”

The high school building was built in 1956, and the middle school building was built in 1967. Both buildings are well worn and in need of replacement. Combining the middle and high schools into one new building presents a more cost-effective option than building separate middle and high school buildings. The proposed project would create a three-story facility that aligns with modern academic standards and best practices and would serve several decades of students to come.

Residents in Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury will vote on Monday, April 29 whether to approve the funding request for the project and again in a ballot vote on May 6.

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