HOLLIS – After dedicating almost an entire day’s worth of time in two prior sessions, the third installment of the Hollis Brookline COOP annual district meeting concluded in under 30 minutes Tuesday night.

More than 200 Hollis and Brookline residents showed up to speak either for or against the proposed $1.9 million STEM lab and fitness center, but the meeting adjourned after only one speaker.

The renovated space, warrant article two, needs a two-thirds vote to pass. The article failed at the first meeting by only 32 votes, and was moved for reconsideration at the second meeting.

The crowd moved to accept a brief speech from Cameron Hallett, an HBHS student on the robotics team, who wanted to advocate for the STEM lab even though he is not a registered voter.

The lab, he said, would not hinder the district’s efforts to boost math test scores, as had been suggested at a prior meeting, but would instead work alongside that goal. It also would, he said, keep the district

competitive.

According to recent studies, he said, many of the jobs that will be available when current kindergarten students graduate do not even exist yet.

“It is unlikely that I will see many of the benefits,” of the STEM lab, Hallett admitted, but he said he recognizes how important that will be to younger generations of students.

Hollis Brookline is one of the only districts in the state to offer STEM in every school from elementary through high school. By the time those younger students get to be in high school, he argued, they “should be at the pinnacle of the offerings we can provide.”

After Hallett spoke, resident David Sachs moved to adjourn, reasoning that they already had spoken on the issue at length during the previous issue, and they should move straight to

voting.

The polls will be open in the mini gym at Hollis Brookline High School from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. today.

The results will be announced as soon as the votes are counted.

Hannah LaClaire can be reached at 594-1243 or hlaclaire@nashuatelegraph.com