Gloucester School Committee Greenlights Design Phase for O'Malley Courtyard Overhaul

School Committee · Meeting of February 11, 2026

Gloucester School Committee unanimously votes to begin design of a $3 million O'Malley middle school courtyard project. The committee voted 5-0 Wednesday to enter the design phase of a proposed outdoor renovation at O'Malley Innovation Middle School, a project led by the Gloucester Education Foundation with a campaign goal of $3 million for design and construction. Executive Director Emily Siegel told the committee the foundation has already raised $455,000, enough to cover the full design phase, toward a concept that includes multi-purpose sports courts, a turf-topped "adventure hill" with amphitheater seating for up to 80 students, and a possible climbable maritime sculpture.

Construction, estimated between $1.5 million and $2 million, is targeted to begin March 2027 and finish by fall of that year. The committee also unanimously approved Superintendent Ben Tucker's recommendation to hire Dr. Katherine Tucker, a North Reading middle school principal and adjunct professor at Salem State and UMass Lowell, as the district's next assistant superintendent, describing both interview panels as unanimous in her support.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of February 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.