By Carol Britton Meyer

The school committee delayed until Jan. 23 a vote on consolidating Hull’s schools into two buildings because a member was absent from Monday’s meeting due to a family illness.

The agenda for the meeting noted that the committee would vote on phase one of the reconfiguration plan by moving the sixth grade to the Jacobs Elementary School next year – or, in effect, keeping the fifth graders in the same building for another year. The Memorial Middle School would house grades 7 and 8.

However, the discussion and vote was delayed for two weeks because member Liliana Hedrick could not attend this week’s meeting.

“I know people are expecting us to vote on the reconfiguration tonight, but that wouldn’t be fair without all the school committee members here,” Chair Stephanie Peters said.

The overall reconfiguration as outlined in the MARS Best Educational Use of School Facilities report and supported by an ad hoc committee calls for the Jacobs School housing grades PreK to 7 and the high school containing grades 8 to 12 in the 2024-25 school year. A future vote would be needed by the school committee to implement the full plan.

The reconfiguration would leave the middle school open to other educational uses, such as the South Shore Collaborative, or municipal uses, such as town offices or a senior center. The school committee would maintain control of the building.

The MARS report evaluated the educational adequacy of the three current school buildings with the goal of what is in the best interests of Hull Public Schools students.

These votes by the school committee relate to a December school committee meeting during which Superintendent of Schools Judith Kuehn presented the two-phase plan. The first phase, if approved by the school committee, is to allow time for planning and communication prior to implementing the overall reconfiguration plan.

Before the agenda item came up, Kuehn noticed people in the audience who attended the meeting for the planned consolidation discussion and vote and let them know that it was being postponed.

Peters noted that she would like the committee to consider offering hybrid meetings, including the usual in-person meeting and an interactive remote option, so that those who can’t make it to a meeting are able to participate.

For the full consultant’s report and other data on the Best Educational Use of School Facilities, visit this link.

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