Quarter-Million Bond For MHS Renovations Gets Initial OK

The aldermen's Appropriations Committee on Monday night unanimously recommended the city's request to borrow $250,000 for design and project management services for what city officials say would be a three-year renovation project at .

Mayor Rob Dolan has repeatedly said in recent months that renovations of the 36-year-old building is his primary goal, a point he reiterated to the committee Monday night. Last June, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) .

"This is the first financial commitment I’m asking the Board of Aldermen to pay to implement a program I believe, over the next four years, is going to be the focal point of my administration," he said. "Principal (Dan) Richards is making remarkable progress. He’s dedicated to creating an environment that’s educationally excellent. That’s what he expects without any hesitation. We want to create a building that people want to go to that first and foremost produces a well-rounded student."

The total cost of the renovations could cost up to $7 million, with the city on the hook for $5 to $5.5 million of that. The exact cost of the project wouldn't be determined until the city hires an architectural firm, using the $250,000, to design the renovations.

Dolan said that the total cost must be a "number we can afford and based on priorities," in contrast to the new (MVMMS) project, which he said was "let’s tear it down and build what we want. This is a more conservative approach."

The $250,000 would also be used to retain the services of Pat Saitta, who was project manager on the new MVMMS and would be the project manager for the high school renovations as well.

Targeting Funding From State, Energy Savings Contract

The administration is also applying for state funds from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for an . Melrose City Planner Denise Gaffey said that the SBA is expected to vote in June and that city officials are meeting with them again on April 30.

Also, the school's heating, ventilation and air conditioning system would be targeted through an energy performance contract, with the bond for the improvements paid off by the energy savings. If those savings don't come in as projected, the company performing the audit must pay the difference.

Borrowing for the project would not exceed the administration's self-imposed limit of having the city's debt account for no more than 5 percent of the annual city budget, Dolan said.

Dolan also reiterated Monday night that the city would not pay for the renovations by asking voters to approve an override or debt exclusion, as they did for the new middle school.

Goal Of Collaborative Learning Through Technology

The centerpiece of the project, Dolan said, would be turning the school's Resource Center into a modern technology center. Beyond the tech center, science labs and new foreign language labs, the building would be made "more aesthetically pleasing for staff and students," Dolan said, with new lighting, painting, desks and more sprucing up the tired building.

Richards emphasized to the aldermen that the project wouldn't only consist of aesthetic improvements to the building.

"The school of my time is gone, of your time is gone," he said. "There’s a new learner and they need different tools. That’s what we’re attempting to do, develop that environment within the walls we have."

Aldermen at-Large Jackie Lavender Bird asked what the modern foreign language labs. Richards recalled the old foreign language labs of the past, with students walled in at a cubicle, and said students don't learn independently as much as they did in the past. The new labs, he said, would encourage collaborative learning.

"We will be discussing and learning French with students who are in Paris, who are across the ocean, with something electronic," he said, adding that the lessons wouldn't be confined to the cubicle or expertise of one teacher, but include the "expertise of folks in the country they can converse with and collaborate with—not only collaborate with their peers in Melrose High School, but peers in sister schools in different countries. It's extremely exciting."

Superintendent Joe Casey said that technology lends itself to the 21st century skill sets needed in a global economy and that educators seek to instill in their students.

Aldermen Express Support

Ward 5 Alderman Gail Infurna said that city officials hear from residents about how Melrose High School should be the flagship of the community.

"I’m glad to support this to give you the tools to go towards that goal," Infurna said.

Noting the amount of space in the high school due to its original design, Ward 2 Alderman Monica Medeiros said the renovations present "exciting" possibilities in terms of what that space can be used before, beyond just a technology center or foreign language lab.

"It's discussions about how to set up group learning, where people can plug in and learn and adjust to how kids learn on a college campus," Medeiros said.

Dolan reiterated his view that the renovations take a conservative approach, compared to new school building projects in other communities that cost tens of millions of dollars, and that the some of the notorious design aspects of the high school—such as the lack of windows or the "weird" cafetorium—will remain. He said that the city should view the high school and middle school collectively as a complex, each bringing something to the table.

"We’re doing a renovation, but it's not a radical renovation," he said. "We’re trying to be sensitive to the operations budget and the citizens of the city ... we feel we have a good structure here. Dan Richards feels we can work in that structure."

After the committee's vote, the bond will now go before the full Board of Aldermen at its next meeting for final approval.