It’s official now – classes will begin at

Westbrook Middle School on Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Teachers will prepare their classrooms on

Tuesday, Jan. 19, which will be a no-school day for middle-school

students.

The building’s steering committee Thursday

accepted the middle school as substantially complete, meaning the

school department has taken ownership of the facility from the

construction company and the architect.

The School Committee voted Wednesday to

approve the plan proposed by Superintendent Reza Namin and

presented by Principal Brian Mazjanis to start classes at the new

school on Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Discussions by both the School Committee and

the steering committee this week were lengthy and divisive.

However, for both groups, the sentiment that students should get

into the building as soon as possible prevailed.

The $34 million, 135,000-sqaure-foot middle

school on Stroudwater Street was approved by voters in 2007.

Classes were originally supposed to begin there on Jan. 4, after

the school’s winter vacation, but the building wasn’t ready, and

students instead returned to the old Wescott Junior High School

after the break.