MERSD-Essex School Building Committee Meeting | November 4, 2026

The MERSD-Essex School Building Committee meeting on November 4, 2026, focused on the proposed new Essex Elementary School and preparations to bring the project to town meetings. The committee reviewed the project’s development and schematic design, including a phased construction plan intended to keep students in the existing school during construction without modular classrooms or off-site relocation. Doran Whittier is serving as the owner’s project manager, and Consigli is the construction team; both were described as already on board. The estimated project cost discussed was $75.2 million, with approximately $38.4 million in costs identified as ineligible for MSBA reimbursement. The team also reported that value-management work had reduced the project cost by about $3 million. No procurement award or spending vote was reported at this meeting.

Discussion covered the design enrollment of 250 K–5 students plus 30 pre-K students, the building’s community and security functions, tax impacts, escalation, and the project’s MSBA funding process. The estimated Essex tax impact was described as averaging about $118 per $100,000 of home value over the 30-year borrowing period, subject to final costs and financing. The committee discussed continuing cost review during later design phases; voters will decide whether to fund the project at the upcoming town meetings.