Norwood not such a bargain

New figures put it closer to local plan

Last month, as state Treasurer Timothy Cahill was lambasting Newton and Wellesley for what he termed excessively expensive plans to build new high schools, the agency he oversees was giving the green light to spend state money on a high school project in Norwood.

At an estimated $80 million, the Norwood project looked to be half the cost of Wellesley's for two-thirds the student population, and an even smaller fraction of the cost of the $197.5 million Newton North High School proposal.

Now it seems like Norwood's project is not going to be so much cheaper after all.

The Norwood school district's superintendent, Ed Quigley, said on June 6 that the $80 million estimate approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority is an outdated figure.

"We were talking about $80 million over two years ago, in 2006 dollars," said Quigley. "That's what we estimated if the building opened then. But every month that goes by adds hundreds of thousands of dollars to any project."

Quigley said Norwood's talks with the MSBA have always been in a range of "anywhere between $80 million to $100 million."

The estimated cost of Wellesley's proposed new project - $159 million - is based on the prospect of breaking ground in 2010, according to Selectwoman Katherine Babson, who also serves as chairwoman of the town's School Building Committee. If seen in 2008 dollars, it's more like $142 million, Babson said.

With Wellesley's enrollment estimated at 1,600 and Norwood's at 1,100, Wellesley's proposal would come in at $88,750 per student. At $100 million, Norwood's cost per student would be $90,909, according to a calculation by the Globe.

Katherine Craven, executive director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the agency overseen by Cahill that administers state grants for public school construction projects, says the agency believes both towns can have good schools for less money. Craven said Norwood gave the MSBA its estimate this year, and the MSBA considers that number to be reasonable.

"We're willing to work with Norwood to make a building plan to fit the budget," she said.

"If we don't need a brand new cafeteria, and a brand new auditorium, and a brand new gymnasium, there could be significant cost differences."

Craven added that the agency is also willing to go through the same process with Wellesley.

Both the Wellesley and Norwood projects call for all-new buildings. Wellesley's plan, she says, also calls for a temporary gym for use by students while the new building is being constructed. But Craven says the schools could consider alternatives. For instance, instead of erecting a temporary gym, Wellesley could investigate using gym facilities at Babson College during the construction process.

Quigley said the MSBA made clear to Norwood that it wants the town's project to meet the agency's guideline of no more than 185 square feet per student. Under that formula, an estimated student enrollment of 1,100 would limit the size of the building to 203,500 square feet, said Quigley. But both Norwood and Wellesley have been contemplating larger projects. Wellesley's preliminary design for an all-new school would provide 196 square feet per student for its enrollment of 1,600.

Craven said the 185-square-foot guideline was based on the state Department of Education guideline of 155 square feet per student, "bumped up to make it more generous and realistic." She said the increased number was agreed upon in discussions with associations representing school superintendents and school committees when the agency's guidelines were revised in 2006.

"It's not a mandate, but a guideline," said Craven, adding it's a guideline the agency feels is reasonable. And while the MSBA last month approved Norwood for some state funding on its high school project, said Craven, there is still much scrutiny to come.

"We haven't approved design specifications on Norwood yet," said Craven. She said MSBA officials would continue discussions with Norwood and schedule discussions soon with Wellesley to examine the needs of each town.