By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – A $54 million bond for a new elementary school has been approved by the City Council Finance Committee and full council approval is expected according to Council President Edward Clancy.
Mayor Arthur Vigeant, also chairman of the Marlborough School Committee, is anticipating a grant of $10 million from the Model School Program of the Mass. School Building Authority (MSBA), to be applied to the new school project.
“The fourth elementary school will allow for both a reduction in class size across the district, due to overcrowding, and will allow us to bring the fifth grade back down to the elementary level,” said Michelle Bodin-Hettinger, vice chairman of the Marlborough School Committee. “Currently there are 16 fifth-grade classes at Whitcomb, along with the 6-8 middle school model. The fifth-grade operates on a two-person team elementary model,” she said.
The new facility will be constructed on an existing athletic field located on a portion of Poirier Drive. The School Building project committee, comprised of school administrators and consultants from Lamoreaux Pagano and Associates; considered other locations for the school, including Marlboro Airport, Rawchuk property, and parcels on Williams, Spring, and Elm Streets
Once funding is approved, site work will begin. The new school should be completed and ready for occupancy by fall 2020, according to Bodin-Hettinger.
