Essex School Building Committee Approves Design Program, Drops Two Project Options

ESSEX -- January 6, 2026, Essex Elementary School Building Committee unanimously approved its Preliminary Design Program for state submission and voted to narrow its list of project options at the January 6 meeting. The committee, chaired by Teresa Whitman, approved the PDP, a document months in development, for submission to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by the end of the week, clearing the way to enter the Preferred Schematic Report phase of the $80-to-$90 million project. Two straw polls eliminated the site-B school-merger option and the prekindergarten-through-grade-three grade configuration from further study; a formal ratification vote is set for January 26. Superintendent Pam Bowden warned that the K-3 split would force roughly 80 Essex students into an additional school transition, calling it a configuration she "could not actually recommend." The committee is working within a $1.5 million feasibility budget and has set a revised schedule targeting November 2026 town meetings and a December 2026 debt exclusion vote.