By Carol Britton Meyer

The school committee signed off on a 20-year memorandum of agreement with the town Monday night that would allow some town services to move into Memorial Middle School once its grade consolidation plan is complete and the building is available for other purposes, but no earlier than July 1 of this year.

The select board was scheduled to review the agreement Wednesday night. It is subject to obtaining funding for the town hall relocation and related costs of outfitting the building for town offices. [Click here for related story.]

The school committee would maintain control over the building for the duration of the agreement, which allows the town to occupy the first and second floors for town hall-associated “community purposes,” along with the use of certain shared space – including the auditorium, gymnasium, and cafeteria.

If there is an expansion of school programs in the future, the school committee would negotiate with the town for the expanded use of Memorial School for school purposes.

Also, the committee could at any time, with advance notice of not less than 24 months, terminate the agreement.

It would be effective for 20 years, provided that not later than 24 months prior to the expiration date, unless the agreement was terminated earlier, both parties shall attempt in good faith to negotiate a successor agreement.

The committee’s intent is to lease the ground floor to an educational institution such as the South Shore Educational Collaborative, which currently rents classrooms at the Jacobs Elementary School.

Should that tenant no longer need the space, nor the school department, the town would have the right of first refusal, subject to negotiations with the school committee.

Other portions of the agreement relate to making structural or appearance changes and the sharing of operating, bondable capital, and custodial costs and that “recommendations for allocations of the school budget shall not be affected as a result of this agreement.”

Last January, the school committee gave its vote of approval for the second and final phase of the Best Educational Use of School Facilities reconfiguration plan to change the Jacobs School configuration to PreK through grade 7 and the high school configuration to grades 8 to 12 beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

Phase 1, which has already been implemented, is housing Pre-K through grade 6 at Jacobs Elementary School, grades 7 and 8 at the Memorial School, and grades 9 through 12 at the high school for the current school year.

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