The Office of the Superintendent has issued the following press release after local officials, including members of the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee, met with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and Senator Karen Splika and Representative Carolyn Dykema at the State House on Wednesday, November 9, 2011:
Press Release
Hopkinton officials met Wednesday morning with state legislators and representatives from the MSBA regarding the elementary school building project. Senator Karen Spilka and Representative Carolyn Dykema were both in attendance. The MSBA was represented by Deputy Executive Director, Mr. John McCarthy; Ms. Mary Pichetti, Director of Capital Planning; Ms. Diane Sullivan, Senior Capital Project Manager; and Mr. Jim Daiute, Government Affairs Liaison. Hopkinton representation included a quorum of both the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee as well as Town Manager, Norman Khumalo and Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jonathan Landman. Dave Finney, from Design Partnership of Cambridge, was also in attendance. Several members of the Hopkinton community and press also attended the meeting, and were given a chance to offer questions and comments at the end of the meeting.
The presentation made to the MSBA detailed the strong history of town support for the school district, the high level of community engagement in the process, information regarding community outreach conducted since the failed votes in March, and the plans outlined by the School Committee and Board of Selectmen to both continue and enhance the process moving forward. Of equal interest to the MSBA was Dr. Landman’s description of the recent community workshops, as well as a brief summary of data gathered.
Participants engaged in a very positive and productive conversation regarding how the town can best continue to work toward a solution to the operational and educational needs of the Center School. John McCarthy of the MSBA clarified that, unlike the former School Building Authority process, the current MSBA process would not cause Hopkinton to ‘move to the back of the line’ in order to pursue a resolution other than the previously proposed Pre K-5 districted school on Fruit Street.
Valuable information regarding the Statement of Interest process was also shared. The School Committee and Board of Selectmen will work with the MSBA to renew the district’s Statement of Interest.
The MSBA representatives indicated that a Statement of Interest for work at Elmwood School could also be filed by the January 11, 2012 deadline for the MSBA’s review. They noted, however, that until further progress has been made, it is not possible to determine whether work at Elmwood could be done in conjunction with, concurrently with, or separately from the next version of the Center School solution.
The Board of Selectmen and School Committee sincerely thank Senator Spilka, Representative Dykema, and the representatives from the MSBA for the opportunity to meet and discuss the project. The meeting provided valuable clarity and direction for moving forward toward garnering grant support for a community supported solution to the operational and educational challenges of Center School.