By Cyndy Bremer
According to Steve Sharek, Director of Outreach and Development at Minuteman Regional High School, the district-wide vote held on Tuesday resulted in the approval of the funding for the new school building project for the Lexington-based technical/vocational school that services Bolton students.
The “final unofficial tallies” for the entire school district, as shown below, was 12,158 in favor and 5320 against. The district-wide referendum required a simple majority to approve the project. With 10 percent of registered voters turning out at the polls, the votes cast amounted to nearly 70 percent approval.
The positive vote will allow the estimated $144.9M building project to move forward, remaining eligible for state reimbursement. The state has committed $44M to the project, according to Minuteman District officials, who said, “The District will pay for the rest through borrowing and through revenue generated by a new capital fee to be imposed on non-member communities that send students to Minuteman.”
In a letter sent out on Wednesday, Superintendent Edward A. Bouquillon thanked voters in the Minuteman District. “The level of support was simply overwhelming,” said Bouquillon, “I’m so grateful to the voters and to everyone who worked so hard to make this happen. This is a major milestone in Minuteman’s history.”
Bouquillon said Minuteman will now proceed with Module 6 of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process. Working with its project manager and architects, it will try to accelerate final design and planning for the new school.
