Construction of New Minuteman High School to Get
Underway
State and
Local Officials Break Ground for New School
 |
| Groundbreaking for New Minuteman High School. Pictured left to right are Minuteman School Committee chair Jeffrey Stulin, State Rep. Jay Kaufman (D-Lexington), MSBA Executive Director Jack McCarthy, Minuteman School Building Committee chair Ford Spalding, and Minuteman Superintendent Dr. Edward Bouquillon. (Photo: Allison Salisbury) |
(Boston Orange) 歷經10年計畫，新民兵(Minuteman)高中終於破土動工了。
新學校將分成生命科學及服務，和工程及建築行業兩個領域，共16個職業及科技教育項目，收取628名學生。其中先進製造及多媒體工程(技術劇院)是新設的兩個項目。
州政府及地方官圓和數以百計的民兵高中教職員，學生，6月14日在位於林肯鎮(Lincoln)，學區所擁土地的該校足球場，參加了破土動工典禮，慶祝這預定斥資1億4490萬元建造新高中計畫，終於塵埃落地。新校位置距位於勒星頓鎮的該校現址，僅數百碼之遙。
麻州學校樓宇局(MSBA)將為此項目投資4400萬元以上。
(From Minuteman High School) LINCOLN – Almost a decade in the
planning, construction of a new Minuteman High School is finally underway.
The new school is designed for 628
students who will spend their Minuteman “careers” in one of two Career Academies: a Life Sciences and Services Academy and an
Engineering, Construction & Trades Academy.
The new school will include 16 career and technical education programs,
including two new ones: Advanced
Manufacturing and Multi-Media Engineering (Technical Theatre).
State and local officials joined hundreds
of Minuteman faculty, staff, and students today for a ceremonial groundbreaking
for the construction of a new $144.9 million high school. The 45-minute event took place on the
school’s football field, located on District-owned property in Lincoln, just a
few hundred yards away from the existing school in Lexington.
The Massachusetts School Building
Authority (MSBA) is investing more than $44 million in the project.
“An investment in education pays the
best interest,” said MSBA Executive Director Jack McCarthy, paraphrasing the
words of Benjamin Franklin. Mr. McCarthy
noted that the Minuteman project has been in the MSBA planning process longer
than almost any other project in the state, spanning the tenure of several
State Treasurers.
Speaking on behalf of Minuteman’s State
House delegation, Rep. Jay Kaufman (D-Lexington) applauded the project and
noted Minuteman’s importance to students and to the region’s economy. He also remembered the late Sen. Kenneth
Donnelly (D-Arlington) as a leader in support of vocational-technical education
and Minuteman High School.
Nothing about the Minuteman project has
been easy. To secure project approval,
the District needed to revise its governance structure and membership, scale
back student enrollment, and change state regulations so non-members contribute
to capital costs. The District was also forced
to hold a district-wide election to secure final approval for bonding.
“This project nearly failed several
times,” said School Committee chair Jeffrey Stulin of Needham. Speaking directly to Minuteman students, Mr.
Stulin urged them to take on important projects, be persistent, put their
passion into it, and have the courage to accept that they might fail.
For Minuteman Superintendent Dr. Edward
Bouquillon, the groundbreaking ceremony has been a long time coming. Dr. Bouquillon said he first realized that the
existing building needed significant repair or replacement soon after he
accepted the job as superintendent in 2007.
In November of 2008, he filed a Statement of Interest with the MSBA. The new building will open in the fall of
2019.
In remarks at the groundbreaking, Dr.
Bouquillon urged state officials not to tinker with the existing model for
career vocational-technical education.
“Now is not the time to shave off the best aspects of CVTE and try to
graft it onto a traditional high school schedule,” he said. “All that will do is weaken our system in
Massachusetts.”
He also urged the State Legislature to
increase funding for similar projects.
“MSBA needs another penny of the sales tax to get all the vocational
technical schools rebuilt and to build new ones to fill the Skills Gap,” Dr.
Bouquillon said. Currently, MSBA is
funded by one penny of the state’s 6.25-percent sales tax.
Following the remarks, Dr. Bouquillon
received a standing ovation.
Guests at the groundbreaking included a
host of town managers and selectmen from area towns; education officials,
including vocational school superintendents; officials from the Massachusetts
Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA) and the Massachusetts
Association of School Superintendents (MASS); members of Minuteman’s
business-led program advisory committees; and a representative from the Massachusetts
Life Sciences Center.
Several students flanked the podium,
wearing uniforms representing two student organizations, FFA and SkillsUSA.
Ford Spalding, chair of the Minuteman
School Building Committee and a member of the Minuteman School Committee,
served as Master of Ceremonies.
Through the Governor’s Workforce Skills
Cabinet, the Baker Administration has approved two competitive grants totaling
$995,000 to help Minuteman purchase equipment to start-up the new Advanced
Manufacturing program.
Gilbane Building Company is the Construction
Manager for the project and Kaestle Boos Associates is the Architect. Skanska USA Building serves as Minuteman’s
Project Manager.
Minuteman is an
award-winning regional high school that integrates robust academic and career
& technical learning to deliver a revolutionary competitive advantage. The
school serves a diverse student body with multiple learning styles, expanding
opportunities for college and career success.
Beginning in July 2017, the
Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District will include ten (10)
member towns: Acton, Arlington, Belmont,
Bolton, Concord, Dover, Lancaster, Lexington, Needham, and Stow.
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