We wanted to provide you with the latest update about the new elementary school building project:
After the June 20th elementary school building committee meeting, the project team sent a letter to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) seeking their permission to revote the project after the original debt exclusion vote on June 11 to fund a new consolidated elementary school in Stoughton did not pass. Members of the project team had a productive meeting with the MSBA on July 12, followed by another building committee meeting on July 17. The latest from this series of meetings is that we are seeking the MSBA’s approval to extend their deadline and hold the revote for funding the project in April 2025, to coincide with Stoughton’s annual town election.
As we continue to explore our options with this project, there are some important points we would like you to keep in mind:
The physical condition of the South Elementary School remains an ongoing issue and needs to be addressed. It is imperative that we take this opportunity to seek the MSBA’s support for revoting this project. This project is truly the best proposal to meet the educational goals of the district, replace two elementary schools for less than the cost of building two separate new buildings, and maximize our ability to collect tens of millions of dollars in funding from the state.
Based on our conversation with the MSBA, significant changes to the project scope or design will result in jeopardizing this project’s place in line and would cause further delays.
This elementary school project impacts all elementary school students and elementary school buildings. This is not just a project impacting current South School families. Our student population continues to increase districtwide and we are lacking adequate space in our buildings to accommodate this growth. Regardless of whether this project goes through or not, the school district will need to redistrict and redraw the boundary lines of our elementary schools. While this won’t happen for this coming school year, it is something that will be done in the near future. The School Committee will be further addressing the topic of redistricting at their July 23 meeting as part of their larger discussion about the elementary school building project. We will have more on this topic following the July 23 School Committee meeting.
We remain committed to providing the best quality education for the children of Stoughton and will continue to keep our community up to date with this project.