Schools

With RTM's Blessing, Middlesex Gym Set for $314K Overhaul

The Representative Town Meeting approved a $277,000 special appropriation Monday.

It isn't every day that notches a 71-0 win.

That was the tally Monday night as the Representative Town Meeting unanimously approved a $277,000 special appropriation for repairs to the school's old gym, giving the green light to a long-deferred project.

Plans call for replacing the facility's wooden floor, bleachers, and backboards and swapping a curtain in for the current dividing doors. The project is expected to cost $314,000 in all, an estimated $37,000 of which will be covered by unspent funds from previously approved capital projects. 

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The okayed the measure March 7, followed by approval from the Board of Finance on March 8.

Lois Schneider, Dist. I member and chairman of the RTM Education Committee, presented the project at Monday night. She said her committee had approved the appropriation 10-0 at an earlier meeting.

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"Each year, on the tour of the schools ... we look at the floor and the decision is made for financial reasons to just wait another year," Schneider said. "The time has come when we can't wait another year."

Though the RTM has yet to weigh in on next year's school budget, Schneider said that the project would be treated as a capital expense for 2011-12. The early approval was needed to allow the project to be completed over the summer, she explained.

"Timing is critical for the project's success," Schneider said.

Bruce Orr, Dist. V member and chairman of the RTM Finance and Budget Committee, reported that his committee had approved the measure 11-0.

"[The gym's] condition has deteriorated to a point where the safety of the children using this facility is now a primary consideration," Orr said.

Board of Education chairman Kim Westcott also spoke before the RTM, asking the body to approve funding for the administration's "top priority capital project."

Members unanimously backed the measure without comment.


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