Lincoln School Committee Approves $1.3 Million to Furnish New Hanscom Middle School

LINCOLN — December 3, 2015 — Lincoln School Committee unanimously approves $1.3 million to furnish the new Hanscom Middle School. The board voted 5-0 at its December 3 meeting to withdraw $1,302,687 from the Hanscom Reserve Fund for furniture, fixtures, and equipment — roughly $2 million below the original design estimate of more than $3 million — after staff members Maureen Onigman and Mary Gately renegotiated contracts with four vendors. Administrator for Business and Finance Buck Creel said classroom and office furniture came in under $600,000 against a discounted estimate of roughly $1 million, and audio-visual and technology equipment was trimmed from $1.4 million to an estimated $625,000. The committee also voted unanimously to keep the district on the standard MCAS assessment for spring 2016, rejecting a switch to the state's PARCC-based pilot amid unresolved technology concerns, and renewed a five-year lease with Magic Garden Incorporated for the Hartwell preschool space through August 31, 2021.