Schools

High School Gymnasium to be Demolished in February

The decision to take down the gym despite the pending appeal was announced at Wednesday's School Committee meeting and will serve as the first true construction at the site.

Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton announced during Wednesday’s School Committee meeting that the Wilmington High School gymnasium will be demolished over February vacation.

Though the high school project is currently being appealed to Superior Court, it was previously ruled that the Activities and Use Limitation (AUL) was not allowed as part of the appeal, leaving the door open for the town to begin work on at least part of the project.

February vacation is slated to begin on Monday, February 20. On February 11, Benton said fencing will be put up in the area.

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As a result, an alternate parking plan will be put into place. To date, 90 seniors applied for and received parking stickers. There is also room for about 80 additional student parking spaces, in addition to staff parking. A lottery system will be put into place to issue those remaining passes.

Benton said the decision to demolish the gymnasium as the first phase of construction is due to the anticipated spike in costs that will result from the delays the appeals have caused over the last year-plus.

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“Every day we do not do construction, we’re losing more money,” said Benton. “I don’t think we can afford to wait any longer, and the town agrees with me.”

Check back on Thursday for more coverage of the decision, along with other topics from Wednesday’s School Committee meeting.


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