WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to share that the district held a beam signing this morning for the middle-high school building project.

A small group including Superintendent Bartholomew, Assistant Superintendent Brent Conway, Pentucket Regional High School Principal Jonathan Seymour, Sen. Bruce Tarr, Rep. Lenny Mirra and members of the School Committee, Building Committee, We Are Pentucket and town officials attended the gathering. The event was held in front of the current Pentucket Regional High School building in the circular pick-up area near the front entrance and flag pole. 

Attendees of the signing gathered at 8:30 a.m., while wearing masks and practicing social distancing, for a welcoming statement and introductions from Principal Seymour. Additional remarks at the gathering were shared by Superintendent Bartholomew, School Committee Chair Dena Trotta, previous We Are Pentucket representative Julie Torrisi, Sen. Tarr and Rep. Mirra. 

Then those who attended signed the beam one by one, and members of the community were also invited to drive through the area and sign the beam throughout the day today. 

The beam will be the last to be placed into the new Pentucket Regional Middle-High School building, and is scheduled to be placed in the building on Monday, Feb. 1. 

“This project is going to make a tremendous difference for Pentucket students for generations to come,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “We are always grateful for the continued support of our communities. In addition to being an iconic institution of learning, this building will always be a symbol of the Groveland, West Newbury, and Merrimac communities unifying to prioritize education and making a commitment to the young people of these three amazing towns.”

The Pentucket Regional Middle-High School building project is on schedule, and is anticipated to be completed in spring 2022 and officially opened the following fall. Construction began in spring 2020, and the $146.2 million project was approved by the Towns of Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury in spring 2019 at Town Meetings and Town elections. The Massachusetts School Building Authority is funding up to $52.7 million of the project. 

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WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew wishes to provide an update to the community about the Pentucket Regional Middle-High School building project.

The project has not been affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at this time, and remains on budget and on schedule.

The Towns of Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury approved the $146.2 million project at Town Meetings and Town elections last spring; up to $52.7 million of the project cost will be funded by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

Temporary construction trailers and site signage are scheduled to arrive for the building project the week of April 27, and construction trailers will be housed at the front of the current high school parking lot. Temporary fencing to mark off the construction area is scheduled to be installed beginning May 11.

“Fortunately, the ongoing pandemic has not impacted this project, and at this time everything remains on track,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “Our district needs this new facility to continue providing high quality educational opportunities to our middle and high school students, and we have been working closely with our partners on this project even in the midst of COVID-19 to keep the ball rolling.”

Pentucket Regional School District will be contacting neighbors to the site by mail to join an email list, at will, and neighbors will also be provided contact information for the owner’s project manager, who will be available to answer any questions they may have.

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.

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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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A video rendering of the construction phases and traffic flow plans for the proposed combined middle and high school building project, created by project management and architecture firm Dore & Whittier. In phase one, temporary parking would be built on the field that abuts Route 113 in front of the current high school building. The property behind the current high school, including the football field and baseball diamond, would be sectioned off by a construction fence as the new building is constructed on that land. As construction on the new building is completed, the parent pickup and drop off routes, and bus routes, to and from the middle and high schools would remain the same. Once the new building is finished, the current middle and high school buildings would be sectioned off by construction fences and demolished.

Groveland, Merrimac, and West Newbury residents would be asked to vote to approve the project at Town Meetings on April 29 and through a ballot vote on May 6.

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.

The website PentucketProject.com will act as an official source of information for residents in Groveland, Merrimac, and West Newbury as they prepare to vote on Monday, April 29 whether to approve the funding request for the project and again in a ballot vote on May 6.

The project needs to be approved by all three towns, in both votes, to move forward. The votes represent the final step in the process.

“We’re excited to share this website as an official resource for residents looking to learn more about the project,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “It’s important going into town meetings and ballot votes that residents know all the facts about the project, the concerns facing the current middle and high school buildings, and how the details of this project came to be.”

A news blog on the website will be regularly updated with the latest information about the project. The website also includes video recordings of past presentations on the project, which can be seen by clicking here.

The proposed Pentucket Regional School District (PRSD) grades seven through 12 building would replace the current middle and high schools, which were respectively built in 1967 and 1954.

Both buildings are significantly worn and approaching the end of their useful life spans. The high school building faces several infrastructure issues, including an old, corroded plumbing system that is insulated with asbestos and frequently causes flooding and an outdated heating system that a district assessment of its condition revealed is in imminent danger of failing. To learn more about the state of the current buildings, click here. 

The project would build a three story, modern facility combining the middle and high schools into one building on a unified campus. This is a more cost effective option than building separate, new middle and high school buildings that exist now.

To examine renderings of the proposed building and learn more about its design, click here.

The total estimated cost of the project is $146.3 million. After ineligible costs are calculated and deducted from the total cost, the district estimates the Massachusetts School Board Authority (MSBA) will fund approximately 40 percent of the project.

The MSBA will announce an official reimbursement amount in April.

At the project reimbursement rate and interest rates, based on the average assessed home value in each town in the district, it is estimated that, should the project move forward, the average Groveland homeowner’s taxes would increase $745, the average Merrimac homeowner’s taxes would increase $734, and the average West Newbury homeowner’s taxes would increase $755.

Four years ago, PRSD was accepted into the MSBA process for the first time since a proposed new high school building was voted down in the late 1990s. Since PRSD was re-accepted by the MSBA, the district has been working with the MSBA to develop the most cost effective plan to meet the needs of the middle and high schools.

“The proposed building would solve the infrastructure concerns in both buildings, and would create a facility that will enhance and support student learning for decades to come,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “We encourage residents to visit the website, learn about the project being proposed, and consider what the project will mean for future generations of Pentucket students.”

A School Building Committee formed in fall 2016 to oversee the MSBA process, and includes administrators, town officials, selectmen, school committee members, and residents. To learn more about the committee, click here.

To access the website, visit pentucketproject.com.

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