SBA Meets on Procedures of Committees

On Monday, December 16 the Winthrop School Building Assistance Committee (SBA) met. At the meeting the four SBA subcommittees reported on how they have set up their meetings.

As reported last week during the first construction subcommittee, the Finance, Construction, Education and IT/Athletics/Security have all met and reported back to the full committee Monday.

The first meetings dealt with setting up meeting schedules, scope of responsibilities and elections of chairs.

Chair of the Education Subcommittee is Eileen Belastock (WHS principal), chair of Finance is Tim Gordon (Winthrop CFO) and chair of the IT/Athletics/Security subcommittee is Vincent Crossman.

Superintendent of Schools John Macero also gave a report on the updated Swing Space Plan and the SBA’s project manager and designers presented  updates to the full committee.

“As evidenced by our attendance this past Monday on a cold wintry evening, the School Building Assistance Committee members are committed to rolling up our sleeves and representing our community while following the school project through to completion,” said co-chair Mary Lou Osborne. “Even though we have met as a committee for a few years, we are now entering a phase of some very complex work and we are fortunate to have  the guidance of our experts respected in their fields:  our project manager, designers, and the staff of the Massachusetts School Building Authority.”

In October the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) voted to approve the town’s plans to build a new Winthrop High/Middle School. Voters approved the project on November 5.

The plan is to tear down the existing high school and build a brand new facility that would house both a high school and middle school that would operate independently of one another.

Last January the SBAC voted 14-4 in favor of building a new Middle School and High School during a joint Winthrop School Building Assistance Committee/Winthrop School Committee meeting.

The cost of the project would be $82,950,000. The SBA’s next full meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 15th at 6 p.m. at the Cummings School multi-purpose room.