The New Maria Weston Chapman Middle School is scheduled to open in time for the 2022-23 school year, officials said.
The 252,000-square-foot building broke ground in 2019 and will become Weymouth’s only middle school, accommodating all sixth- through eighth-graders, or about 1,470 students. Each grade will have its own two-story wing in the pinwheel-shaped building.
Previously, fifth- and sixth-graders went to Abigail Adams Middle School, and seventh- and eighth-graders went to Chapman.
Designed by HMFH Architects of Cambridge, the school was budgeted at $164 million, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority expected to contribute about $57.3 million of the cost. Weymouth voters approved a debt exclusion that will cost the average homeowner about $250 more a year in property taxes for the length of time it takes to pay off the debt, projected to be 20 to 25 years.
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“The taxpayers made a significant investment to make a new Chapman Middle School a reality,” Mayor Robert Hedlund said. “It is an exciting time for Weymouth’s educational system and our community as a whole.”
Features include a central dining area and kitchen, a new theater and 842-seat auditorium, renovated gym, and labs areas related to science, technology, engineering, art, and math. The spaces are geared to introducing students to different vocations and technology, and include a culinary lab, broadcasting studio, and fabrication lab.
The school also has 18,000 square feet of space dedicated to special education.
Langill said about $6.4 million is left in contingency funds.
The school is named for Maria Weston Chapman, a local woman who was an educator and abolitionist in the 1800s.
Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.