Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 7/13/2023
LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow Public Schools has officially been invited to participate in a feasibility study for Glenbrook Middle School through the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
The school department has been pursuing MSBA funding to address the conditions at middle schools for several years and has been working with the agency since March 2022 to examine options for Glenbrook Middle School.
Conditions at Williams Middle School have also been taken into account as the option of consolidating both schools under one roof is explored.
“The next step would be to move forward, engaging with an owner’s project manager,” said Tom Mazza, assistant superintendent for finance and operations.
An owner’s project manager is a consultant that would help the Middle School Building Committee coordinate designers, architects and contractors. It is tasked with oversight and taking the project from the vision stage to the construction stage. Mazza said he is hoping to have contracted with an owner’s project manager by fall.
Working with the owner’s project manager, the Middle School Building Committee will decide whether the best choice is to update and renovate the existing Glenbrook Middle School, build a new Glenbrook or consolidate Glenbrook and Williams middle schools into a single, modern school to serve the students.
That decision will require a great deal of data and will take into account cost, the educational parameters of the middle school program, the condition of the existing building and the vision the school department has for educating middle schoolers over the next 50 years. There will be surveys and forums with the public to gather community input.
The feasibility study is expected to take between 12 and 18 months. By the end, there will be a preferred schematic design that can be presented at Town Meeting and a price tag to go with the plans.
Speaking for the school department, Mazza said, “We look forward to the process and to identifying the best step forward for the middle school.”