The following was submitted by Minuteman:
In decisions designed to pave the way for construction of a new school, the Minuteman School Committee has approved consensus amendments to the Minuteman Regional Agreement and authorized the negotiation of an intermunicipal agreement with the Town of Lincoln.
Many town officials in the Minuteman district view these companion moves as vital to the project’s ultimate success.
At a special meeting on December 21, the Minuteman School Committee also voted to postpone a decision to borrow $144.9 million to build a new school. That delay had been sought by area selectmen to give towns an opportunity to vote first on the new Regional Agreement.
The School Committee is now expected to take a bonding vote no later than February 23.
Minuteman is expecting its 16 member towns to hold Special Town Meetings prior to March 1, 2016 to ratify the changes in the Regional Agreement. Those changes were agreed to by selectmen from the member towns during meetings in Weston hosted by selectman Douglas Gillespie. Among other things, the new Regional Agreement streamlines the process for withdrawal by member towns, eliminates the five-student minimum charged to member towns for capital costs, and requires out-of-district communities to help pay for their share of capital costs of a new building.
Superintendent Bouquillon thanked town officials from the 16 member communities for rallying behind the project.
“We gave the area selectmen a big job and an almost impossible deadline by which to get it done, but they’ve come through,” said Dr. Edward Bouquillon, Superintendent-Director of Minuteman High School. “They put aside their differences and rallied around this project.”
Following a December 2 meeting in Weston, a smaller group of selectmen worked to iron out details of the proposed changes to the Regional Agreement. That group included Dan Dunn of Arlington, Dan Matthews of Needham, and Vince Amoroso of Boxborough, among others.
The Minuteman School Committee will now work with Lincoln officials to negotiate terms of a separate intermunicipal agreement. Lincoln will be the host community for the new school. The proposed agreement is expected to provide Lincoln with a phased-in annual payment in exchange for a host of services to be provided to Minuteman including security, emergency response, and related support.
Minuteman submitted a schematic design to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) on December 1.
The MSBA is expected to pay 44.75% of eligible project costs, up from 40% that was originally anticipated. Since not all project costs qualify for reimbursement, the net reimbursement rate for the project is expected to be approximately 33%.
The MSBA has given Minuteman until June 30, 2016, to secure local approvals.
The new school building will be built on land already owned by the District, in Lincoln, adjacent to the existing building. It will include two Career Academies with 16 high-quality career and technical education programs, plus a robust offering of academic curriculum.
Minuteman is an award-winning regional high school. It gives its students a competitive advantage in the new economy by delivering robust academics and powerful career and technical skills.
The Minuteman district includes 16 member communities: Acton, Arlington, Belmont, Bolton, Boxborough, Carlisle, Concord, Dover, Lancaster, Lexington, Lincoln, Needham, Stow, Sudbury, Wayland, and Weston.
Minuteman is an accredited member of the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC).
