School Committee supports statement of interest for middle school replacement

The Dartmouth Public Schools district is one step closer to constructing a new middle school after School Committee members voted in favor of sending a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

The MSBA partners with communities to support and fund the design and construction of public school facilities.

The current middle school was built in the 1950s, with some of the original equipment still in use. 

While the building isn’t the district’s oldest, the MSBA previously assessed that it’s the “worst off,” according to James Kiely, the assistant superintendent of finance operations.

Kiely said the statement of interest states that in 2025 the MSBA noted that the middle school was a building “in need of major attention” that was “one of the worst buildings in the area in terms of overall condition.”

He noted that the state of the building’s condition isn’t due to poor maintenance but rather time.

“It’s got a lot of the original equipment from the 1950s and 1960 when it was in its first edition,” Kiely said. “It’s not a modern educational environment for kids.”

At a School Committee meeting on Monday, March 23, School Committee members agreed to send a statement of interest to the MSBA to apply for funding.

Before the letter is sent, it must first receive approval from the Select Board, which will likely vote on the measure at their next meeting, Kiely said.

If the Select Board approves the statement of interest it will then be sent to the MSBA for consideration.

Kiely noted that the MSBA likely won’t make any decisions about the request until the fall, at which point the school district will learn whether the project has been approved or if they will need to send in a new statement of interest.