Andover Public Schools: West Elementary & Shawsheen School Building Project

Press release from Andover Public Schools:

June 11, 2021

On Saturday, June 5th, Andover residents voted overwhelmingly at Town Meeting to approve funding for the West Elementary & Shawsheen Preschool new building project. While this is one important milestone in the funding process, we encourage our voters to take the final step in having their voices heard.

A Special Town election will be held from 7 AM- 8 PM on Tuesday, June 15th. In order for the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to work collaboratively with the town for funding of the West Elementary & Shawsheen Preschool Building project, registered voters are asked to endorse the vote taken at Town Meeting with a majority vote. This means that in order for the project to move forward, more than 50% of voters must support Question 2 at the polls. More information on the ballot questions for the Andover Special Election can be found here.

West Elementary School was built in 1951 and added to in 1968. The Shawsheen facility was constructed in 1923. To see updated information on the work and process of the West Elementary & Shawsheen School Building project, please visit this webpage.

Using the Facility Master Plan developed by MGT of America for the Town of Andover and Andover Public Schools as its basis, the School Committee engaged in extensive stakeholder input on those school buildings identified as having the most significant needs. In December 2016, following surveys, building tours, and forums, the Committee selected West Elementary with its numerous facility deficiencies as its top priority for submission to the highly competitive Massachusetts School Building Authority grant program. The MSBA selected the West Elementary school in December 2017 as one of only 15 projects from a total of 156 projects submitted that year.

The project’s funding is supported by the Andover School Committee, Andover Select Board, Andover Finance Committee, Andover Planning Board, the Council on Aging and the Andover Green Advisory Board.

On behalf of our students, we are grateful for the support from the community thus far. We hope to see you at the polls on Tuesday.

Please contact Paula Colby-Clements, chairperson of the West Elementary & Shawsheen Preschool Building Committee should you have further questions.

Susan McCready

Chairperson, Andover School Committee

This press release was produced by Andover Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.