³ The MSBA website now includes copies of the Statement of Interest (SOI) papers from every town (including Wellesley) that has filed one - the deadline for this funding cycle was July 31, 2007. According to the MSBA website, 426 SOIs representing 161 school districts were received by the application deadline. The Boston Globe indicates that by December, the MSBA will pick the first schools to receive reimbursement.

The MSBA will make funding decisions based on 8 criteria, including: (1) unsound buildings imminently jeopardizing health & safety, (2) existing severe overcrowding, (3) threat to accreditation status, (4) future severe overcrowding, (5) improvement of energy efficiency , (6) short-term enrollment growth, (7) functionally obsolete buildings, and (8) court-ordered racial balancing of school districts. Wellesley is seeking funding based on 7 of these 8 criteria (not the final one), and according to the MSBA website, no SOI has been filed to ameliorate criterion (8).

Summaries of current SOI information can be found on the SOI page of the MSBA website (scroll down to the bottom of the page to download the pdf pages). In summary, 29 of the 426 buildings, including WHS, are rated "4" which is the worst facilities rating, and 7 schools, including WHS and Wayland HS, state in their SOIs that they meet 7 needs criteria. It is still unclear exactly how the MSBA will prioritize these needs. The MSBA will undertake a "Facilities and Maintenance Assessment" of 18 pilot districts over the next several months, to independently establish needs stated in the SOIs. Wellesley is not on the list of pilot districts to be evaluated.

³ The Wellesley School Committee has published a series of Position Papers which address specific concerns about the High School project, including whether the High School should include Grades 9-12 or Grades 10-12, what the rationale for the current academic schedule is, whether the new WHS Project should build for peak enrollment, and whether the auditorium and gyms need to be upgraded. 

³ The School Building Committee (SBC) has been formed to oversee the WHS Project and to maximize the chances for MSBA (Mass School Building Authority) reimbursement. The SBC is actively soliciting town-wide input and its meeting schedule is listed on its website. Materials which have been submitted to the SBC can also be viewed, as can the SBC newsletters.

³ The visioning consultant for the High School Project is Frank Locker of DeJong, Inc.

³ The architect is SMMA (Symmes, Maini & McKee Associates)

³ The Wellesley Permanent Building Committee will be working with the SBC on the planning and execution of the construction project. They are currently involved in reviewing the designs for feasibility.

³ The Wellesley Public School Administration has been integral to providing input, data, access and information on the current state and future of education in Wellesley, as well as the role a facility plays in that education.

³ Review of the Wellesley High School Facility by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), rating the building a 4, the lowest rating on a scale of 1 to 4. The Massachusetts Building Authority website is www.massschoolbuildings.org

 Last updated: August 09, 2007