HINGHAM — September 28, 2026 — Weekend storm leaks at South School and Hingham High School required cleanup by facilities crews, the superintendent told the School Committee Monday, weeks before voters take up roof projects at both buildings and Plymouth River. The projects need approval at an Oct. 29 special town meeting and on a separate ballot, and a drop in MSBA reimbursement has raised the town’s Plymouth River cost.
The Full Story
Superintendent Katie Roberts thanked the district’s facilities director and team for their work through the weekend storm.
I just wanted to report to the school committee that both South School and Hingham High experienced some pretty significant roof leaks that required intervention by the facilities team and the associated cleanup with that. There were some additional minor cleanup items at the other buildings, but South and the High School experienced the most significant water intrusion.
— Katie Roberts, Superintendent 2:07
The superintendent said the Select Board voted Tuesday, Sept. 22, to place three warrant articles related to the Plymouth River, South and High School building projects on the warrant for an Oct. 29 special town meeting. The work includes roof projects at Plymouth River and South School and roof and HVAC projects at the High School.
The district has scheduled three information sessions ahead of town meeting: in person on Wednesday, Oct. 7, in Room 103 at the high school, and by Zoom on Oct. 15 and Oct. 21. District leadership, the 2025 School Building Committee and the project design teams will attend to outline the need for and scope of each project, the superintendent said.
Committee Member Kerry Ni broke into the report to flag a point of confusion from conversations around town: the projects must pass at special town meeting and again at the ballot box. Ni urged residents to turn out for both, pointing to the weekend leaks. Roberts said district graphics had been updated to include the ballot vote, which will be held on a separate ballot from the regular ballot.
Chair Jen Benham, reporting for the School Building Committee, said the panel is meeting weekly and held an emergency meeting after the design team received new information from the MSBA on total cost and on which costs related to solar panels and the reinforced structure of the rooftop are reimbursable. The final numbers went to the advisory committee, and the price went up slightly, Benham said.
Updated figures for Plymouth River and South followed the next week. At South, Benham said, the project’s cost did not increase; the change came from the MSBA reimbursement and was small, not enough to influence the estimated taxpayer cost. At Plymouth River, the reimbursement went down, so the cost to the town went up. The advisory committee approved those numbers as well, Benham said, and has approved two of the warrant articles, with a review of the third set for a Thursday meeting.
Ni asked whether the figures would keep moving and was told they will fluctuate weekly or biweekly until the projects go out to bid, though nothing drastic is anticipated; a supplement with the final number may be provided, and there will be a solid firm number by town meeting.
The superintendent stressed that schematic designs represent about 30% of the full design process, calling the current figures a very solid estimate for that stage. Aisha Oppong, Executive Director of Business & Support Services, said the MSBA plans to come back within the next week or two to settle what will go before its board, which will produce a solid reimbursement number based on current costs, with the final figure coming after bid.
