Important Meeting on Minuteman Tonight (Thursday) at Beech Street Center

A view of the proposed Minuteman Regional Technical School. Belmont Town Meeting will vote to leave the Minuteman School District on October 19. A meeting on October 13 will give the Minuteman Administration a chance to make their case for the town to stay.

A view of the proposed Minuteman Regional Technical School. Belmont Town Meeting will vote to leave the Minuteman School District on October 19. A meeting on October 13 will give the Minuteman Administration a chance to make their case for the town to stay.

Just a note that there’s a very important information session this evening (October 13) at the Beech Street Center (aka the Senior Center).

The event is being hosted by Minuteman Regional Technical School and here’s there letter of invitation:

Minuteman High School to Sponsor “Facts and Future” Forum in Belmont

LEXINGTON – In an effort to provide Belmont Town Meeting members and citizens an opportunity to discuss the town’s upcoming vote to leave the District, the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District has announced that it will sponsor a public forum at the Beech Street Center in Belmont on Thursday, October 13 from 7-8:30 p.m.   The forum, titled “Minuteman:  Facts and Future”, will include a presentation, panel discussion, and question and answer period, according to Dr. Ed Bouquillon, Minuteman’s Superintendent.

“We’ll outline the facts about our new building and the positive impact it will have on students in the member towns in our District,” said Dr. Bouquillon.  “And we’ll talk about what makes a Minuteman education unique, including the broad array of career and technical education programming that we offer.”

The Minuteman event is open to the public.

Further information on the forum will be released as details become available.

On September 20, voters in the Minuteman District voted overwhelmingly to support construction of a new Minuteman High School.  The final, certified vote was 12,160 in favor to 5,321 opposed.  There were 24 blanks.

Following the vote, Belmont Selectmen called a Special Town Meeting for October 19 to ask Belmont Town Meeting members to vote to withdraw from the Minuteman District.  A two-thirds vote is required at the Belmont Special Town Meeting.

As noted, Belmont’s Town Meeting will be voting next week on whether to leave the Minuteman district, after the Town’s decisive vote against the request to build a new High School on September 20. Votes in other towns were resoundingly in favor of the new building, clearing the way for its construction.

The Special Town Meeting will take up the question of whether, having parted ways with the administration of Minuteman and other member towns on our desire to build a new school building (at least as proposed by Minuteman) we should leave the district altogether. To do so will require a 2/3rds vote of Town Meeting. And, if we fail to get that many votes, Belmont will remain in the district and be bound to pay its share of the cost of the new Minuteman Regional high school, regardless of the outcome of our vote on September 20.

These are weighty issues and well worth voters time and consideration. Please make it a point to attend the meeting tonight from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at the Beech Street Center!