What's New

2009 - 2010 School Year

 

The New Tewksbury Memorial High School:  For those who are not familiar with the new TMHS project, some of the details include:

* The new, "green" high school will be built on the same grounds as the current school. The building will increase in size from 175,000 to 218,000 square feet and it will accommodate 1100 to 1200 students. It will enjoy state-of-the-art, 21st century structural, heating, air conditioning, technology, lighting, accessibility, ventilation, health and safety facilities.

* With new, state-of-the-art facilities, we will be able to offer an overall better curriculum with rigorous Advanced Placement courses and dedicated Special Education spaces for life skills and alternative education. Additionally, the plans include a multitude of accommodations for Student Services such as health, guidance and career counseling. Finally, any valuable assets residing in the current high school will be redeployed and passed down to other schools in town. The new high school plans include:

- A fully-equipped auditorium, library and media studio with capable lighting, audio and video for student broadcasting and community programming

- Expanded gymnasium, weight room, suspended walking track and other general athletic training facilities

- Conference and meeting rooms, with 2 large multi-purpose instruction spaces

- Advanced computer technology labs to facilitate engineering and design

- State-of-the art cafeteria and kitchen, expanded hallways and classrooms

- Multiple ball fields (most likely with multi-sport Field Turf), ample parking

- Advanced band, dance, art, ceramics and photography studios

- Science labs for instruction on physics, chemistry, earth sciences, robotics and biology (greenhouse)

- Child care center and personal assistance lab

- The latest computer technology (SmartBoards, Wi-Fi Internet access) to facilitate learning in the classroom

This effort is a short term reality. Construction is projected to start in this summer 2010 with the new school opening planned for students enrolled during the Fall of 2012. Demolition of the old high school building, and thus the subsequent creation of the ball fields and additional parking on this land, is also part of the effort and will stretch the finished product into 2013. The current Tewksbury Memorial High School building, as noted in 2005 by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), does not meet accreditation standards. The town is now on warning status such that if the facility is not addressed, we could be put on probationary status and thus risk losing accreditation. Restoring the current high school is not a viable option. Renovation will cost almost the same total amount, around 70 million dollars, as building a new facility. However, in this scenario, we will not receive any MSBA/state reimbursement funding. It is, therefore, much more practical and economical to build a new facility right now. All of these details and more are noted on the Tewksbury Memorial High School Building Committee (HSBC) web site online at http://www.tmhsbc.org.

In addition to the enhanced facility, there are also many other benefits and opportunities the project offers as well. These include:

* Strength In Education - Tewksbury's children deserve the proper educational foundation in order to compete and succeed in the future. Lets keep our children in our community rather than having them educated (and playing sports, being employed) elsewhere. Building a new high school will enhance our community's long term teaching and learning environment.

* Invest In Tewksbury - As a community we take pride in our new Library, Senior Center, Police Station, Ryan Elementary and Wynn Middle Schools. Let's continue to invest in the town and build a new Tewksbury Memorial High School that reflects that same pride and forward thinking.

* Leverage This Great Opportunity - In 2007 a Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) evaluation concluded that the Town of Tewksbury actually has the "greatest need" in the area for a new facility out of 400 schools that applied. Tewksbury, therefore, was the 1st of 3 to be "fortunate" enough to be accepted into this unique Model School Program (MSP). After a deliberate research process, we picked an existing local school (the Hudson High School Model Plan) to use as a prototype in order to realize lower architectural design fees, an accelerated project timeline, and an extra 5 reimbursement percentage points saving millions of dollars.

* Guaranteed Reimbursement - The MSBA/State of Massachusetts has already pledged and set aside funding for high school re-development projects which cannot be cut nor eliminated. The money is sitting in the bank literally waiting for the Town of Tewksbury to leverage and build a brand new high school. We can't let this great MSP opportunity pass us by and hand the funding over to another competing town who is eagerly waiting for us to pass.

* 60% Percent Off - The cost of the new high school will be around 82 million dollars. The state has guaranteed a reimbursement rate of 60.06% (on the reimbursable items only) on our project. This means the state will fund around 44.2 million dollars and the town will need to come up with the remaining 37.8 million. As part of the agreement, Tewksbury will get reimbursed every 30 days during construction.

* Now Is The Best Time To Build - Looking back over last decade, and ahead another 10 years, now is the perfect time to build. Interest rates and Tewksbury's bond rating are currently very favorable. Construction costs are down, and this project will bring jobs to our community. As our population grows, the tax base for the town will increase as will all our property values - enhancing our return on investment.

* A Revenue Opportunity - The new school contains a variety of multi-purpose facilities that will not only be utilized by our teachers and students during the school day, but also could be leveraged by our entire community in this new town center. A variety of initiatives and events, from dance recitals and concerts to sports leagues and business office/meeting space, will provide a valuable, tangible revenue generating opportunity for the town (along with additional revenues from increased property values, a larger tax base and the like). Let's have our seniors graduate in their own building for a change!

The town's estimated project cost will be around 37 million dollars. The tax cost per average resident household will be around .65 cents per $1,000 home value. The average home value in Tewksbury is $295,000. Therefore, the approximate cost per tax household for Tewksbury residents would be around $195 a year, or a total cost of around $3,900 over 20 years. Much less than sending one child to private school for one year!

There is a two step process. First, there will be a Special Town Meeting at the Tewksbury Memorial High School on Monday March 1st, 2010 at 7:00PM to discuss this topic. We encourage everyone to attend and participate, regardless of your current voting preference. Second, we hope that the town meeting will result in a Special Town Ballot Vote to approve the debt exemption. The vote will be taken on Saturday, March 6th, 2010. Voting will take place from 8 AM to 8 PM on Saturday the 6th. Residents vote at two places, depending on their precinct: 1) Senior Center - 175 Chandler Street - Precinct 1 & 1A and Precinct 3 & 3A as well as 2) Library - 300 Chandler Street - Precinct 2 & 2A and Precinct 4 & 4A. For those who cannot make it to the polls on voting day, consider submitting an Absentee Ballot. The deadline to submit an Absentee Ballot is on March 5, 2010. For more information, you can request an absentee ballot from the Town Clerk online at http://www.tewksbury.net/Pages/TewksburyMA_Clerk/index or call 978-640-4355. Ballots are generally available 3 weeks before a vote.