The School Committee Meeting was held at Foster School on December 18that 7:00 pm and was well attended by the Foster community. However, as many attendees and attending administrators pointed out, the issues that surround Foster School will impact the entire community.
Last week, Foster School was evacuated due to a boiler issue causing the school to lose heat. The boiler system is the original operating system from the 1950s. Emergency protocol was put in place and administrators, staff and students were commended in the meeting for their approach. However, it was another reminder that the school building is in need of serious attention.
Assistant Superintendent, Dr. James LaBillois, confirmed that the school administration revised the School Emergency plans for 2018-2019 and that these protocols were followed last week when the heat went out at Foster School. When an emergency arises at any school there are different scenarios outlined within the Emergency Plan pertaining to the amount of time a school would need to be closed. For example, there are different protocols for a one-day closing, 2-3-day closing, or two weeks, to a year or more. If a school building was compromised and required to be closed for more than five days, the students and faculty would need to be disbursed among other public school facilities impacting the entire community as rooms where art, gym and library are held would need to house classroom teachers and students. Alternatively, rental spaces in other towns, or at facilities such as the former home of the South Shore Collaborative could provide alternate space options for a longer-term solution. In this instance, pending timing, it could require that the entire Town be redistricted not only current Foster Elementary students and faculty, although consideration for keeping existing school communities together would certainly also be a factor. The full 2018-2019 School Emergency plan is prominently displayed and available at all schools. LaBillois confirmed that the safety of our schools is always the top priority.
John Ferris, Director of Business and Support Services for Hingham Public Schools was present at the meeting and addressed the steps that have been taken to-date to address the needs at Foster School. Ferris does not believe that Foster is in immediate danger; however, he confirmed, along with the support of the School Committee and other Town administrators, that there is clear need for either a significant renovation or rebuild of Foster in the near future. Ferris stated that he is a long-term planner and recognizing these needs, he began the process for identifying and socializing issues at the aging elementary school more than two years ago in order to begin the process to apply for Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) funding. The MSBA has been a generous partner working with the Town of Hingham to fund the development projects at South Elementary, Hingham High School and more recently when building East Elementary and the Hingham Middle School. This process can take four to five years. Hingham first applied for MSBA funding for the Foster School project in 2017 and applied again in 2018 – both times Foster School was unfortunately not selected due to greater needs across the State of Massachusetts and limited MSBA funds. Last year, the Town of Hingham was proactive in voting to appropriate $750K to fund a Feasibility Study, contingent on MSBA funding, and create a Building Committee so that if the State funding was granted, the community would be ready to hit the ground running.
Many attendees asked questions surrounding the Town’s ability to secure MSBA funding in the future, and if we can afford to wait. Senator Patrick O’Connor, who has been an advocate for Foster throughout the MSBA application process, was present at the meeting and confirmed for attendees “I commend the Town of Hingham for being as proactive and prepared as you are. I suggest you continue the process with the MSBA and, in the meantime, continue to support the high level of care and maintenance to Foster School that has been demonstrated in the past.”
Ray Estes, chairman of the School Building Committee, also chimed in “We are extremely disappointed that MSBA funding was not granted this time around, but we are hopeful that as a community we can come together to determine that this is a need that cannot wait any longer and start to take action.”
That next step is for the School Committee to outline their suggested path forward and develop a new draft warrant article that would be voted on at the next Town Meeting. All draft warrant articles must be submitted to the Selectman by January 22nd. A warrant article requesting any non-reimbursed project would have to come from a borrowing, which would require a two-thirds vote approval at the next Town Meeting on April 22, 2019.
Michelle Ayer confirmed that they are seeking input from the community on the draft warrant article and encouraged attendees to email her with any thoughts or feedback at mayer@hinghamschools.org. She also welcomed attendance at upcoming School Committee meetings. According to the School Committee calendar on the Hingham Public School’s website, the next School Committee meeting is January 7that 7:00 pm in the School Department Conference Room.
Relevant documents related to the state of the Foster School Building can be found online via the following links:
Foster Elementary School – Statement of Interest presentation – 2/27/2017
MSBA – Submitted SOI for Foster Elementary School – 4/3/2017
Feasibility Study – Foster Elementary School – 11/17/2017
Existing Conditions Narrative – Foster Elementary School – 12/4/2017