School finds its perfect model
Hudson High plan chosen for project
As they prepare to finalize a proposal for a new high school building, Tewksbury school officials have a concrete vision of the type of facility that would be built. They had only to look at Hudson.
Tewksbury was one of six school districts chosen by the Massachusetts School Building Authority to take part in a new cost-saving program in which new high schools are built using the design of a successfully completed project.
Tewksbury officials recently picked Hudson’s high school as the model for its project. The School Building Committee made the decision in tandem with its selection of Symmes Maini & McKee Assoc., the Cambridge firm that designed Hudson High, to serve as architect on the Tewksbury project.
“We are very fortunate to have been one of the few communities selected’’ for the model school program, said School Superintendent Christine L. McGrath, “fortunate because Tewksbury stands a very good chance of being the beneficiary of a first-rate facility at an appreciably reduced cost.’’
The model school program is intended to reduce project costs, benefiting both participating districts and the state. The architect only has to modify its existing design rather than starting from scratch. Also, the streamlined design process can speed up the start of construction, potentially reducing building costs.
Districts receive up to 5 additional percentage points of reimbursement from the state authority for participating in the program.
The Tewksbury project, which calls for construction of a new 1,100-student school next to the existing school on Pleasant Street, started with a base reimbursement figure of 52.06 percent from the state, which grows to 57.06 percent by participating in the model school program, according to Matt Donovan, chief of staff at the MSBA. The town could seek additional reimbursement by incorporating “green’’ features in the project.
“The adaptation of Model School designs will simplify the design process and improve cost control for Tewksbury,’’ State Treasurer Tim Cahill, chairman of the MSBA board of directors, said in a statement relayed through his office. “This innovative program has already brought over $77 million in savings to state and local taxpayers.’’
The next step for the Tewksbury project, which does not yet have a cost estimate, is for the selected architect to prepare a schematic design.
District officials hope to have the design completed in time to seek a vote by the MSBA board in January to approve state reimbursement. If approval is granted, the town would have 120 days to authorize project funding. The district is targeting February for a Special Town Meeting to take up that funding request and a special election to take up a debt exclusion - a temporary tax increase - needed to pay for the town’s share of the project.
For Tewksbury to be selected for the model design program, the district and MSBA had to agree on the need for a new school, and on an enrollment figure. The district also had to have a buildable site available, and an educational plan similar to the model school.
The Building Committee toured the three schools that have been selected by MSBA as model schools, according to Peter Collins, project director for Heery International, the firm that is serving as Tewksbury’s project manager. In addition to Hudson, Ashland High School and Whitman-Hanson Regional High School are the models.
Collins said the selection came down to the Ashland and Hudson schools because the architect that prepared the Whitman-Hanson design is busy with another project.
In choosing the Hudson school, which opened in 2003, the School Building Committee was particularly impressed with the design of its two large instructional spaces, its well-equipped auditorium, and its second smaller auditorium, according to McGrath, a member of the group. Other features the committee liked included the design of the library/media center, the modern science labs, and the prevalent use of natural light.
Tewksbury’s existing high school was built in 1959, with an addition constructed in 1981. District officials say the 172,832-square-foot school is too small to accommodate enrollment, and that its mechanical systems and windows are in need of replacement. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges in 2005 put the school’s accreditation on warning status because of the building’s condition.
Plans call for the new school to be 200,000 to 225,000 square feet with flexibility built into the design to allow for future expansion. Collins said the project could begin within six to eight months after town approval, and would take 24 to 30 months to complete.
