Swampscott board progressing with plans for schools

SWAMPSCOTT – The School Master Plan Committee is hoping to make recommendations at the annual Town Meeting in May regarding school facilities.School Committee member Joseph Crimmins, chairman of the Master Plan Committee, said the committee had its first meeting at the end of the summer and a lot of progress has been made.”We did extensive research on consultants,” he said. “We put together a request for proposals, interviewed consultants and hired Design Partnership.”Crimmins said Design Partnership has already started the process of evaluating the infrastructure of district-owned buildings, except the new high school and is in the process of scheduling meetings with community groups.Crimmins said Design Partnership has presented the committee with numerous options, all of which are being considered.”We have seven or eight options,” he said. “Each option has sub-options. The options were presented to us without any type of ranking or preference so everything is still on the table literally and nothing has been ruled out.”Crimmins said the options range from continuing to maintain the existing neighborhood schools to using different facilities for different grades, which he said is something that is going to be seriously considered.In addition to the building currently being used for educational purposes, the district also owns the former middle school on Greenwood Avenue and the Machon School, both of which are being mothballed while their fate is being determined.Crimmins said future use of both those facilities is something the committee is taking a very close look at.”One of the things we will be analyzing is the best recommendation for what to do with those buildings,” he said. “There is an option that would use Machon School for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten and another option is to use Machon for district offices. I think we should use Machon in some capacity. Speaking only for myself and not the committee, I do not believe the former middle school should be used as a place to educate students.”Crimmins said the committee is factoring costs, feasibility, desirability and town preferences into its decision making process.”Our timetable to complete the evaluation process is before Town Meeting,” he said. “We’d like to make a presentation to Town Meeting in May.”Department of Public Works Director and Master Plan Committee member Gino Cresta said he is pleased with the progress the committee is making and with the work of the consultants.Crimmins was quick to add that no decisions would be made without consulting the community.”We want the community confident and comfortable that we’ve explored everything,” he said. “Everyone may not agree with the final recommendation but at least they’ll know we considered everything and there was ample community input.”School Committee member Daniel Yaeger, also a member of the master plan committee, said community input is a vital part of the planning process.”This is a great opportunity for us as a community,” he said. “Professionalism plus community input equal a successful plan that will serve the community well for years.”