WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to announce that construction for the Pentucket Regional Middle-High School building is set to begin this spring.

The project remains on schedule and on budget, and the district is working in partnership with the facility’s designer Dore and Whittier, project manager Vertex, construction manager WT Rich and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to finalize construction documents. The district also continues to work with the West Newbury Planning Committee, West Newbury Conservation Committee and Groveland Conservation Committee to obtain necessary permits for the project, as well as local building inspectors and the Groveland and West Newbury water departments. 

“Since the project was approved by residents in the spring, the district has been working tirelessly with our partners to solidify the plans for the building, continuously evaluate the cost and so on,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “We are on budget, and on schedule. Students, faculty and staff are going to start seeing progress on the project this spring and summer, and we look forward to this exciting new chapter for our district.”

The district expects to begin the construction of a temporary parking lot on the lawn by Main Street in front of the current Pentucket High School building late this March or in April, depending on weather conditions. The current parking lot will be used as a construction zone throughout the building process.

Students, faculty and staff will use the temporary parking lot until the new building is complete and a permanent lot is constructed where the current high school building now stands. 

The district will also begin installing temporary perimeter fencing in the area behind the current Pentucket High School building in late March or April, where the new building will be built.

The new Pentucket Regional Middle-High School building is expected to take approximately two years to construct, and is anticipated to be completed in spring 2022. The district estimates that the current high school and middle school buildings will be demolished in the summer of 2022, and construction for a permanent parking lot will begin in fall 2022. 

The temporary parking lot will be removed during the 2022-2023 school year, and athletic fields will be built in its place, likely during the same school year.

Approved by Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury residents at Town Meetings and through ballot votes in spring 2019, the project will cost $146.3 million. Throughout the construction process, project cost estimates will continue to be performed to ensure the project remains within its budget. 

The district will continue to provide updates about the project as information becomes available. For more information, visit pentucketproject.com.

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Groveland, Merrimac, and West Newbury residents will be asked to vote on Election Day whether to appropriate funds for the proposed Pentucket Regional middle and high school building project.

Below are guidelines for residents seeking to vote by absentee ballot from the Secretary of State’s Office:

Residents that will be absent from their town on Election Day, have a physical disability or religious beliefs that prevent them from casting a vote at the polls are eligible to vote by absentee ballot as well as non-registered voters who are Massachusetts citizens that are absent from the state, confined to a correctional facility or jail for reasons other than felony conviction, or an active member of the armed forces or merchant marines, their spouse or dependent.

To request an absentee ballot, voters may submit an application or a signed letter to their local election official. A voter’s family member may also request an absentee ballot for that individual.

Applications can be downloaded and printed by visiting www.sec.state.ma.us/ELE/eleabsentee/absidx.htm.

The application will require information including the voter’s name, legal voting address, and date of birth. Voters will also be asked to provide the address where they would like the ballot to be mailed, and to indicate for which election(s) he or she is requesting a ballot for.

On the application, voters will also be asked to check any of the listed special circumstances which apply to their application, if any. Lastly, voters are required to sign their name. Those who require assistance signing the application may authorize someone else to sign their name in their presence.

Absentee ballot applications for Election Day on May 6 are due by noon on Friday, May 3. Applications can be submitted in person, mail, fax, or e-mail to the local election official at the voter’s town hall. The signature of the voter must be visible in any application that is emailed or faxed.

Residents voting by mail are reminded to submit their applications and return their ballots with enough time to ensure their ballots will reach the local election official’s office by Election Day.