Furniture delivery is set to begin this week at the new Ellen Garrison Building at Concord Middle School. This is another step toward the anticipated February 24 opening, a milestone that has been made possible by the extraordinary dedication and hard work of the Concord Middle School Building Committee and their partners.
This Building Committee has done an outstanding job managing this project including carefully stewarding the town’s investment. It is under budget with approximately $7 million in contingency funds available to address unforeseen issues in these final stages. While committee members have said that the timeline to opening is very tight, I have full confidence in their ability to guide the project successfully to opening and then completion.
My confidence stems from the committee members’ relevant (and in many cases deep) expertise as well as their collaborative approach with stakeholders across the community. They have kept the public informed throughout the process and been transparent in their decision-making. I believe they have set a gold standard for future construction projects in Concord and, more important, created something that will benefit generations of Concord students and our community for years to come.
I want to express my gratitude to community members who voted to fund this project, seeing the need for this new school and the financial advantages of moving forward without delay given the increasing costs of construction. Most of all, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Building Committee members for their tireless work. I hope others in the community will join me in recognizing their efforts and supporting them as they complete this exciting project.
Yumi Yasutake Suarez
Oxbow Road
