As a service to the community, we are making a number of past Harvard Press articles on the elementary school building project available to all readers until May 8, the date of Town Election. These are pieces that have been reviewed and, when necessary, corrected. If further updates are required between now and election day, we’ll make them. Our goal is to provide readers with the best obtainable information about the school project.
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April 27, 2018
Building committee says minimal renovation would not meet goals by Marty Green
The School Building Committee’s mission was never to do minimal repairs and renovations that would allow the current Hildreth Elementary School to last just another decade or so. Instead, several committee members insisted at an April 19 public forum that their mission had always been to renovate the building fully enough to last another 30 to 50 years.
April 27, 2018
New group confronts BOS, calls for no vote on school by John Osborn
A Better Way for Harvard Schools, a new group led by former Selectman Bill Marinelli, went public this week, calling on town voters to reject the plan for a new elementary school approved two weeks ago by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
April 20, 2018
What the MSBA pays for and what it doesn’t by Marty Green
Officially, the Massachusetts School Building Authority has agreed to reimburse about 51 percent of the costs of a new elementary school in Harvard. Yet its $18.7 million grant represents only about 35 percent of the full cost estimate of $53.6 million, leading to confusion about what is being reimbursed and what is not.
April 20, 2018
Ghosts of estimates past: What was in the HES renovation options by Joan Eliyesil
Over the past year, discussions on Nextdoor Harvard and in letters to the Press, both for and against building a new school, have shown that most residents didn’t understand the scope of the three elementary school renovation options that the School Building Committee had considered before it chose the new-school option.
April 13, 2018
Residents get firsthand view of school building’s flaws by Marty Green
About 30 Harvard residents toured Hildreth Elementary School last Saturday to see firsthand some of the problems that beset the building and led the School Building Committee to conclude that a new school would be the best solution.
April 13, 2018
Early bonding, Devens and capital money would lower school tax impact by John Osborn
Should voters approve the construction of a new elementary school at Town Meeting and Town Election next month, property owners can expect project costs to drive their taxes dramatically higher, though not as high as initially feared.
April 13, 2018
Other towns’ no votes on schools leave path unclear by Marty Green
The Massachusetts School Building Authority has committed to paying about 35 percent of the cost of a new elementary school for Harvard—$18.7 million of the $53.6 million total cost. But it’s a limited-time offer.
April 13, 2018
State approves $18M grant for new elementary school by John Osborn
A two-year effort to win state support for a renovation of the Hildreth Elementary School came to a successful conclusion Tuesday morning when directors of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) awarded the town a multi-million dollar grant to replace the existing school with a new one.
March 30, 2018
Town boards agree on plan to finance HES project by John Osborn
Though the project awaits voter approval in May, the selectmen and the School, Finance, and capital committees now have a joint strategy for financing the nearly $54 million construction of a proposed new elementary school and administrative offices adjacent to the current Hildreth Elementary School.
March 23, 2018
Latest proposals for financing new school offer a lower tax burden by John Osborn
As townspeople continue to debate the merits of a new elementary school online and in this paper, town committees have begun to examine how they could best pay for it. There is good news in the latest numbers, but the inevitable jump in taxes for most homeowners would be a heavy lift.
March 16, 2018
School board ponders putting Devens money toward new school by Marty Green
Over the years, the money MassDevelopment pays Harvard schools to educate Devens students has helped to buy laptops and iPads, update science labs, pay teachers’ salaries, and make capital improvements. Earlier this week, the School Committee discussed whether a portion of that Devens money might also help pay for the proposed new elementary school.
March 9, 2018
Finance and capital committees endorse plans for new elementary school by John Osborn
The two town committees charged with oversight of Harvard’s budget and capital spending have recommended that voters support plans to replace Hildreth Elementary School with a new two-story building that will also house district administration offices.
March 2, 2018
Forum on school building project draws big turnout by Marty Green
About 60 residents gathered in Volunteers Hall Tuesday evening to discuss the proposed new elementary school building project. They listened intently to a half-hour presentation from members of the School Building Committee and then plunged into almost two hours of vigorous but civil questioning and debate.
February 23, 2018
Building committee reviews security measures in light of Florida school shootings by Marty Green
The day after last week’s mass shooting at a Florida high school, the Harvard School Building Committee held a regularly scheduled meeting, and security measures for the proposed new elementary school were a significant part of the discussion.
February 23, 2018
MSBA reimbursement may rise to $18 million by Marty Green
At its Feb. 15 meeting, the School Building Committee reviewed cost figures and learned that the project may receive more state funds than previously anticipated.
February 16, 2018
What if? Repairing HES could top $28 million; state would pay nothing by Marty Green
The consequences of voting yes on building a new elementary school have been the focus of much discussion in town. But there has been less attention to the possible consequences of voting no.
February 9, 2018
New school could cost $53 million; state would pay a third by Marty Green
The School Building Committee met last week to hear two independent cost estimates for the proposed new elementary school.
January 19, 2018
School planners aim for greater energy efficiency by Marty Green
While furnaces around town were running at full tilt in the recent cold snap, members of two town committees pondered how to improve energy efficiency for the proposed new elementary school.
December 22, 2017
Estimates for proposed school are due in February by Marty Green
Harvard can expect official cost estimates for the proposed new elementary school in early February 2018. The School Building Committee agreed at its Dec. 14 meeting that the architectural firm Arrowstreet should send schematic drawings of the current design to cost estimators at the beginning of January, giving the estimators about a month to come up with figures.
November 24, 2017
Architect unveils two-story plan for new elementary school and district offices by Marty Green
At the School Building Committee’s Nov. 9 meeting with the project architects from Arrowstreet, senior associate Emily Grandstaff-Rice presented the latest schematic floor plans for the school, as well as sketches of the building’s exterior.
November 2, 2017
Building committee considers site plan for HES campus by Marty Green
Although there will be no vote on the project until next spring, Special Town Meeting attendees can get a preview of early plans for the proposed new elementary school building.
August 31, 2017
State board OKs next step for HES building project by Marty Green
Plans for a new elementary school moved ahead to a new phase last week.
August 10, 2017
HES team gathers ideas from nearby schools by Marty Green
On Aug. 1, about two dozen people involved in planning a new Hildreth Elementary School set out on an idea-gathering expedition to four recently built MetroWest schools.
June 29, 2017
HES Building Committee moves from feasibility study to schematic design by Carlene Phillips
A scant quorum of the 9-member Hildreth Elementary School Building Committee voted unanimously Tuesday, June 27, to approve a report compiled by the architectural firm Arrowstreet, that will, if all goes well, move the school project from the feasibility phase to the schematic design phase.
June 15, 2017
School Building Committee opts for new construction by Marty Green
In a nearly unanimous vote Thursday afternoon, the School Building Committee decided that building a new elementary school was a wiser choice than renovating the existing one.
June 8, 2017
Selectmen, with one abstention, back new elementary school by John Osborn
A majority of the selectmen — four out of five — said this week that they favor rebuilding the Hildreth Elementary School, one of two options under consideration by the School Building Committee.
June 8, 2017
Residents respond to Hildreth Elementary School plans by Marty Green
The Hildreth Elementary School building project has caught the attention of Harvard residents, and they have expressed their opinions in ways ranging from the traditional to the most contemporary—the spoken word, letters, an online survey, and comments online at Nextdoor Harvard.
June 1, 2017
Selectmen voice support and concerns for Hildreth school building project by Joan Eliyesil
As the School Building Committee considers its final two options for either renovating or replacing the Hildreth Elementary School, one group has yet to weigh in publicly on the project’s fiscal impact to the town.
June 1, 2017
It’s not just about the K-wing: School officials envision a better building by Marty Green
The School Building Committee will vote next week on whether to renovate the Hildreth Elementary School or rebuild it from the ground up. Either way, the decision is about a whole school, not just the kindergarten wing.
May 25, 2017
HES options would sharply increase taxes, double debt by John Osborn
Newly released estimates show that the cost of renovating or rebuilding the Hildreth Elementary School is going to require a dramatic hike in local taxes.
May 18, 2017
Hildreth renovation: School Building Committee narrows options, seeks input by Carlene Phillips
In light of the June 8 deadline for choosing a schematic design for Hildreth Elementary School, Superintendent Linda Dwight urged the School Building Committee to take significant steps toward that decision by narrowing down the four alternative plans.
May 11, 2017
Decision due soon on scope of Hildreth Elementary project by Marty Green
As plans for the Hildreth Elementary School renovation move forward, answers to residents’ questions about costs and scope are gradually emerging at a series of public forums and committee meetings.
May 4, 2017
The K-wing’s troubled history shapes the HES renovation project by Marty Green and Joan Eliyesil
The Press looks at the history of mold problems in the kindergarten wing and what was done or not done to address them. This chronology is gleaned from the archives of the Harvard Post and the Harvard Press.
April 27, 2017
Building committee unveils plans and estimates cost of HES renovation by Marty Green
With estimated costs to the town ranging from $16 million to $26 million, plus as much as 30 percent more in so-called “soft costs,” the Hildreth Elementary School renovation project may well be the largest capital project that the town of Harvard has yet undertaken.
March 9, 2017
Crucial June decision ahead, Dwight updates community on HES project by Carlene Phillips
Thirty or so elementary school parents and community members raised these and other questions at a March 2 forum on the proposed Hildreth Elementary School building project held in Volunteers Hall. Public input followed a formal presentation coordinated by Superintendent Linda Dwight.
December 21, 2016
Building Committee holds first meeting with architects, hears options for Hildreth Elementary by Marty Green
Building committee members, school administrators, and project management met last week for their first meeting with Arrowstreet, the newly selected architectural firm for the school’s renovation and the resolution of the kindergarten wing’s long-standing mold problems.
April 14, 2016
Voters OK school study spending, create charter commission, elect new member to Board of Health by John Osborn
At Tuesday’s election, Harvard voters approved a $500,000 expenditure to study and design renovations at Hildreth Elementary School, and they elected Libby Levison of Old Shirley Road to a three-year term on the Board of Health.
March 31, 2016
Town Meeting, Article 23: Feasibility study is first step toward renovating elementary school by Marty Green
Article 23 requests $500,000 for a feasibility and design study to solve, once and for all, the mold problems in the elementary school kindergarten wing and also to bring the rest of the building up to current standards.
March 3, 2016
‘Pay now or pay more later’: Parents, citizens hear plans to renovate elementary school by Marty Green
Just over a dozen public-spirited souls gathered for the forum on renovating the elementary school last Thursday. But, though attendance was small, the questions showed that the attendees had given serious thought to the issue.
February 4, 2016
Harvard will receive state funds to solve K-wing problems, upgrade HES by Marty Green
School Superintendent Linda Dwight came as the bearer of good news for the selectmen Monday night.
October 29, 2015
State team looks over kindergarten wing by Marty Green
A four-person team from the Massachusetts School Building Authority visited Hildreth Elementary School on Friday, Oct. 16, to look over the kindergarten wing. The visit was the next step toward possible state aid for renovating or rebuilding the wing.
December 12, 2014
School officials say K-wing is safe but must be rebuilt soon by Marty Green
There are no health risks from the mold now sealed in the walls of Hildreth Elementary School’s kindergarten wing, Superintendent Linda Dwight says, but the 1950s structure does have major deficiencies that cannot be repaired because opening its walls would release that mold.
November 21, 2014
Board of Health, selectmen ponder future of kindergarten wing by Marty Green
The kindergarten wing’s problems commanded the attention of two board meetings Tuesday night as School officials appeared first before the Board of Health and later the Board of Selectmen.
November 14, 2014
School Committee seeks state support for rebuilding K-wing by Marty Green
Having agreed earlier that the kindergarten wing of the elementary school needs major renovations at the very least, the School Committee took a step this week to assure that state funds will be available when it decides how to proceed.
