Planners eye 2028 opening for new middle school

An occupancy goal of fall 2028 for either a renovated or brand-new Galvin Middle School was announced at the fourth and final community forum held on Wednesday, November 29, in the GMS library. Sixteen residents attended the forum.

Now, a series of consequential votes await the Canton School Committee and GMS School Building Committee as they prepare for a joint meeting on Wednesday, December 20, where they will decide on a grade configuration plan for the middle school — either grades 6-8 or an expanded 5-8 configuration — and whether the building plans will include a town-financed auditorium or either a cafetorium or gymnatorium partly funded by the Mass. School Building Authority (MSBA).

Jen Carlson of LeftField, the project manager, and Justin Thibeault of Ai3 Architects said the plan is for the school and building committees to select one of nine possible building options by the end of next month, with a detailed schematic design due to the MSBA in June. A decision on MSBA reimbursement is expected by late August 2024, and if all goes as planned, the project would go before voters at a special town meeting in December 2024, and if approved there, a debt-exclusion override election would be scheduled for January 2025.

If either the special town meeting or debt-exclusion vote fails, it will be back to square one for the School Committee and the district would need to reapply to the MSBA. Carlson said there could be a five- to seven-year wait before the agency considers another CPS application, and it took several attempts and a five-year wait before the MSBA finally approved Canton’s current submission.

Already, School Superintendent Derek Folan said meetings are being planned to discuss preliminary future financing with Canton Finance Director Randy Scollins. Carlson said discussions on bidding procedures and finding a general contractor will begin in January.

Regarding public space options, Thibeault said planners are considering either a new 600-seat auditorium, a 470-seat cafetorium, or a 600 to 800-seat gymnatorium. In a recent online poll, residents overwhelmingly preferred the former option, with 80 out of 91 respondents selecting an auditorium as their top choice. If officials concur and approve the auditorium, then architects would plan for a separate gymnasium and cafeteria.

Regarding grade configuration, both Folan and GMS Principal Jonathan Mulhern said there is no data they know of showing that grade configuration impacts academic success. They both agreed if that if grade 5 were to move to the middle school, they would preserve the current instructional model with two main teachers (humanities and math/science) and not establish a team-teaching concept as is programmed for grades 6-8.

Thibeault said if a 5-8 configuration is approved, grade 5 students would be separated from the other grades, and Folan said every effort would be made to keep all grade 5 programming intact, including recess. Folan added that with more space at GMS, there would be more opportunities to expand the curriculum, including expansion of world language offerings, and the potential for more clubs and activities.

While overcrowding at the elementary level remains a concern, Folan said his recommendation to the School Committee will ultimately be based on what is “educationally sound for the building.” Folan said between now and December 20, he will be meeting with teachers in small groups to gather additional input on grade configuration.

Regarding a question about whether a new middle school can be built while teaching is going on, Bob McCarthy, chair of the School Building and Building Renovations committees, said it would require a lot of planning and coordination between school officials and the contractor, but it is still feasible, as evidenced by the last CHS renovation and recent school building projects in Stoughton and Sharon. “It won’t be easy, but it won’t be impossible either,” McCarthy said.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Dec 8 2023. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.