Whitman-Hanson Moves Ahead with the Preferred Schematic for Maquan Elementary School
State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), and Jack McCarthy, MSBA Executive Director, announced today that the MSBA Board of Directors voted to move the Maquan Elementary and Indian Head Elementary Schools forward in the Schematic Design phase to potentially replace both schools with a new elementary school on the Indian Head site. The MSBA and the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District have agreed that an originally-designed school is the most suitable way to meet the District’s needs. The next step is for the MSBA to work in collaboration with the District to produce detailed blueprints.
“These schematic designs will essentially give us our first look at the proposed Maquan Elementary School,” said Treasurer Grossman. “By working closely with the community, I am confident that we will arrive at a design that is efficient and affordable, and more importantly, enables us to develop a plan that best meets the educational needs of local students.”
The proposed project would replace the existing Maquan and Indian Head schools with a new approximately 130,000 square-foot facility serving 800 students from kindergarten through grade 5. The facility would also house the District’s Early Childhood Center.
“It has been a pleasure collaborating with Whitman-Hanson officials throughout this process,” Executive Director McCarthy said. “Now, production and approval of a schematic design will give us a better idea of the final budget for the potential project.”
The MSBA partners with Massachusetts communities to support the design and construction of educationally-appropriate, flexible, sustainable, and cost-effective public school facilities. Since its inception, the Authority has made over $9 billion in reimbursements for school construction projects. These timely payments have saved municipalities over $2.9 billion in avoided local interest costs and have provided much needed cash flow to communities.
