Groundbreaking Ceremony Celebrates East Middle School Renovation

BRAINTREE, MA — A step forward in the plan to renovate the middle schools in Braintree was celebrated at East Middle School Friday.

A ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony was held for the East Middle School project. Work started in April, but the event gave officials a chance to celebrate the process which resulted in the renovation and addition.

“We want to express appreciation to all of you in terms of your commitment to this project. It's taken a lot of hours, a lot of analysis, a lot of helping hands to get to this point,” Mayor Joseph Sullivan said.

The project will see the fifth grade move up to the middle school as part of a plan to create two academies within the school. The fifth and sixth grades will remain in one part of the building and seventh and eighth grade will take the other part. The move is expected help address the space crunch at the elementary schools, where Sullivan said they will gain 22-23 classrooms once the fifth graders move out.

Treasure Deborah Goldberg, who oversees the Massachusetts School Building Authority, call the project a chance to give kids an opportunity they deserve. The agency will be covering about half the costs of the $83.1 million project.

"Am I thrilled to bring a $40 million check to you? Absolutely. But it's really a collaboration between the legislator, the mayor, the school committee. It's all about the local community coming together knowing this could be a financial challenge but knowing in their hearts and souls that this is about the children," Goldberg said.

The new East Middle School is expected to be ready in time for the 2020-21 school year. Town officials are also working on a similar renovation for South Middle School.

Below is the full ceremony:

Image: East Middle School students and Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan celebrate the groundbreaking. Credit: Dan Libon