As you may know, Franklin is in the process of evaluating and approving a new building for Franklin High.

You are invited to attend Thursday evening’s public meeting on the proposed model school to replace Franklin High. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Mercer Auditorium at Horace Mann School and the community will have an opportunity to hear the presentation and to ask questions.

The goal of the hearing is to give parents and citizens an update on the effort to win state approval for a new high school, using the Whitman-Hanson High School design as the model for our building. Members of the Building Committee, the project manager and the architects will give the presentation and be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Work is underway on the design, the specifications, the drawings and the cost estimate for the new building, all of which are scheduled for submission to state officials by December 9. If all goes well, the Massachusetts School Building Authority will vote on our submission in January. Their approval will set the stage for town-wide vote in March or April 2012 on a debt exclusion to finance the project so that Franklin can qualify for a 57.9% reimbursement of the total approved cost. Assuming the community agrees to seize this opportunity and barring unforeseen issues, a new high school to serve Franklin will open its doors to students in September 2014

Thursday’s hearing is the first of several events designed to give parents and citizens the opportunity to hear about the progress of this project and to ask questions.

For more information, go to the Town of Franklin website. You can view a video of the Whitman-Hansen model by clicking on the image below. Have additional questions? Please come to the meeting or contact Ed Cafasso, Member of the Franklin Building Committee at edcafasso@comcast.net.