Town officials are grappling with the benefits and disadvantages of Norwood being the first school system to navigate its way through the state school building authority's new Model School Program.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority has agreed to offer the town a 227,500 square foot design based on Whitman-Hanson Regional High School for the proposed new high school, the cost of which the state would partially reimburse the town.
But the deal has some caveats, such as the fact the authority has stated it will not pay for the replacement of the school's athletic fields.
School Committee Chairman Paul Samargedlis said Friday he's disappointed about the fields situation, but said he understands there are tradeoffs in the process.
"There are plusses and minuses in this - especially because we're going first," Samargedlis said.
For instance, under the Model School Program, the authority is giving the town an extra 5 reimbursement points that will ultimately mean the state will fund a larger portion of the costs than it otherwise would have funded. Additionally, the approved 227,500 square foot design is roughly 23,000 square feet larger than the authority originally approved for the town.
The Whitman-Hanson design also includes items such as an indoor walking track and a larger gymnasium and auditorium than what Norwood initially expected.
There is also the issue of a timeline.
Project Manager Tim Bonfatti said last week the project timeline, in which officials hope to have necessary approvals completed in time to break ground on the new school in the spring, is very tight and very aggressive and will require rapid response and answers from the building authority.
Bonfatti said there are still a number of details to be worked out with the building authority before the ultimate project scope and budget agreement can be finalized, which is the next significant step in the process.
The hope is to have design work done by the end of October, said Bonfatti, which will allow the plans to be given to several firms to get cost estimations back by November.
If those hurdles can be cleared, Bonfatti said the plan is to bring the project to Town Meeting for approval in March and to the voters for a debt exclusion override vote in April in order for construction to begin in the spring.
Architects last week held a series of meetings with school and athletic officials as well as the town's Pedestrian Safety Committee about the proposed layout of the site.
School Buildings and Grounds Director Joe McDonough said he wanted to make sure the site plan, specifically the layout of the driveways and parking lots, conforms to standards established by the safety committee to ensure that walkers are separated from buses and other traffic.
But he said the timeline for the project, which stipulates these decisions need to be made soon, is a challenge.
"Some of these things would normally take months to do, but we have to do them quickly," said McDonough.
Daily News staff writer Brian Falla can be reached at 781-433-8339 or bfalla@cnc.com
