A wood and metal shop as well as one of two gymnasiums may be chopped off the high school next year under the current plans for construction of a new school.
The final design for the new school is still pending and the project will ultimately need the backing of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, Town Meeting and the voters, but under the current proposed timeline, officials hope to begin construction of a new high school behind the existing Nichols Street facility next spring.
That plan will require the demolition of the back section of the existing school to make room for the new building. As a result, project managers have recommended demolishing the back gymnasium as well as the wood and metal shops underneath the complex.
School Superintendent John Moretti said he's talking to Principal George Usevich and his staff to develop a plan for losing those spaces.
Moretti said the school will still have one gymnasium, so he believes existing health and athletic programs can be accommodated, but the wood and metal shops are another story.
"We're looking at some options, one of which is to reach out to Blue Hills (Regional Technical School) about some sort of bridge program where students could take classes here and then get bused over to Blue Hills for shop," said Moretti.
"In any project like this there are going to be compromises and inconveniences," said School Committee Chairman Paul Samargedlis. "This is taking one step back in order to be able to move forward."
But some School Committee members are frustrated about the timing of this, saying if in fact the plan is definite that the high school will be without a gym and metal and woodworking shops next year, the committee needs a contingency plan sooner rather than later.
"There are a lot of students in the program now. What about the kids coming up?" asked member Eleanor Travers. "Those are the details I'd like to see."
Member Bill Plasko Jr. agreed, saying he wants to know how soon the committee can start telling students, parents and teachers which programs will be at the school in the coming years and which will be casualties of the new building.
"We're going to have to tell students in the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grades what the curriculum is going to look like," said Plasko.
Member Dick Kief, who is chairman of the High School Working Group that has been meeting weekly with project managers and architects of the new Norwood High, said the group has already reached out to all affected parties to get a sense of what the plan will mean.
"The comments we got back are that they can make do," said Kief.
Daily News staff writer Brian Falla can be reached at 781-433-8339 or bfalla@cnc.com.
