The Massachusetts School Building Authority has agreed to a 227,500 square foot plan for Norwood’s new high school. Based on the design of the Whitman-Hanson High School and approved under the state’s new Models Schools Program, the proposed design is roughly 23,000 square feet larger than the 203,000-square-foot plan originally approved by the authority.
“We’re working to make absolutely certain that this design will work for Norwood,” said Architect Scott Dunlap of Ai3, the school’s designer. “We believe that with some planning and some customization this can hold all the programs Norwood desires.”
The authority also confirmed that it will grant the town an extra five reimbursement points and will reimburse the town for costs associated with demolition of the School on the Hill. This additional state support is huge and will save the taxpayers millions of dollars.
Unfortunately, all of the decisions coming out of the MSBA have not been positive. The authority has decided not to reimburse the town for the cost of replacing the athletic fields that will be lost when the new school is built, specifically the school’s football, field hockey and baseball fields. Construction of synthetic fields, like those at the Whitman-Hanson school, and press boxes, concession stands and bleachers are prohibited under the authority’s reimbursement regulations, although the state may make money available for grading field sites.
Norwood is a town with a rich sports history and its programs, available to school age children through young adults, are avidly followed and well-supported by the townspeople. The sports pages of this paper are filled with thorough coverage of Norwood’s teams.
All of this enthusiasm can translate into support for siting and rebuilding Norwood’s fields. It may take a significant grassroots effort, spearheaded by those very people who have long supported Norwood’s teams, to get the job done. It may mean putting fundraising efforts in place now to raise the money to create Norwood’s new sports fields to have them ready when the new high school opens.
Others who would enjoy the use of a new stadium, including the town’s renowned music program, could also join in the effort to rebuild and improve the high school’s main sports venue.
Perhaps a new site, where lights would be welcome for night games and marching band competitions, would put Norwood in the same league with the schools it has long envied for their ability to host a full range of stadium activities.
Instead of being defeated when told what allegedly can’t be done, Norwood residents can come together to create a new sports complex of which they can be proud. Let the ideas flow in an open, non-confrontational atmosphere, where voices are heard and not silenced by a few powerful people.
Get creative. Need a concession stand? Don’t just hit that beautiful clock tower atop the School on the Hill with a wrecking ball or allow a salvage company to sell it to the highest bidder. Let it to continue to be at home as a part of a new sports venue as a concession stand or a ticket sales office, or just to continue as the sentinel it has long been, overlooking a field that has hosted countless games and graduation ceremonies.
Norwood will clearly benefit from being among the first school districts to participate in the MSBA’s new construction programs. The High School Working Group, as Norwood’s voice in the dialog with the MSBA, must continue to advocate for the most advantageous outcomes for the town’s children and for the taxpayers who will be asked to foot the bill in March of next year.
Even if the state will not fully fund the rebuilding of Norwood’s sports fields, supporters of the town’s teams can form the kind of powerful fundraising coalition that will make the dream of new sports fields for Norwood’s teams come true.
Norwood resident Candace Leary’s Midpoints column usually appears Mondays in the Transcript.
