DURHAM — Superintendent James Morse is pleased to share that the district held a small, socially distanced groundbreaking this weekend for the Oyster River Middle School building project.
The project, approved by voters on March 10, will result in a new facility located behind the existing Oyster River Middle School on Coe Drive. Work for the new building began in March, and the $49.8 million project is expected to be completed in March 2022. Once the new building is complete, the current facility will be taken down.
The Saturday morning event was limited to ten people including administrators, school board members, local town council and select board members from each district town, the construction manager, architect and a representative of the Oyster River Middle School Go Vote Committee in order to follow social distancing mandates by the state put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Those who attended wore face coverings, except when speaking into the microphone, and remained six feet apart. The district tentatively plans to hold future events, pending the loosening of social distancing guidelines and restrictions, to celebrate the building project.
“This project will build a much needed, high quality facility that Oyster River Middle School students will use and benefit from for generations, and we were thrilled to be able to hold a small groundbreaking, even in these unprecedented times, to mark this milestone for the district,” Superintendent Morse said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to celebrate this project with more members of the Oyster River community once it is safe to do so.”
The new building will include a music concert hall capable of holding 900 attendees, as well as new safety features and designs. The drop off and pick up area for the buses will be separate from areas used by cars under the new design for the school, and the new building will be built to meet handicap accessibility standards. The facility will additionally feature sustainability systems such as geothermal heating and cooling, LED lighting, solar panels and strategic insulation. It is expected the building will reduce the school’s use of fossil fuel by 85%.
As the building project continues, the district will continue to provide frequent updates to the community. For more information on the project, click here.
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