Gloucester School Committee Prepares to Submit MSBA Applications for Two Elementary Schools

GLOUCESTER -- March 25, 2026, Gloucester School Committee moves toward MSBA applications for Beeman and Plum Cove elementary schools. The committee reviewed draft Statements of Interest for both buildings at its March 25 meeting and is set to vote authorization to submit them at its April 8 meeting, ahead of a state deadline of April 17. Principals Jody Giannotti and Dan Jewett described conditions including afternoon classroom temperatures in the low 90s, two-outlet classrooms requiring extension cord networks, all specialist staff sharing two or three rooms at Plum Cove, and a lift to Beeman's second floor undergoing its first repair in over ten years. Superintendent Ben Lummis noted that 50 percent of Plum Cove's classrooms and 33 percent of Beeman's are portable modulars "past their useful life" that cannot be rehabilitated, and that the MSBA process, which funds roughly one-third of construction, typically runs seven to ten years from application to a completed building. The committee separately approved a $300,000 transfer from the district's Special Education Reserve Fund to cover mandated staffing costs tied to expanded autism programs, and unanimously accepted three grants totaling approximately $31,483 in new or adjusted federal and state funding.