Essex School Building Committee Votes to Launch Designer Search for New Elementary School

ESSEX — April 29, 2025 — Essex Elementary School Building Committee authorizes designer search with November 2026 town meeting in sight. The Manchester-Essex Regional School District Essex Elementary School Building Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to solicit a designer for the new school project under the Massachusetts School Building Authority's prescribed process, with proposals due July 2 and a Designer Selection Panel interview date of August 12. Owner's Project Manager Mike Burton of Doran Whittier warned the committee that district representatives will hold only three of 18 votes on the panel, advising members to frame their advocacy around firm experience, project team strength, and workload — the same approach used to secure JCJ Architecture for the Manchester Memorial project. The committee also heard that any scenario routing the project through Manchester Memorial School would require a formally amended regional district agreement before MSBA would execute a project funding agreement, a constraint Burton described as "a piece of work" given the aggressive timeline. The May 27 meeting was moved to June 24 due to scheduling conflicts.