Norwood STM Approves New Coakley Middle School Building 153-1

NORWOOD, MA - At a Special Town Meeting held Monday night, members voted nearly , 153-1, unanimously to approve a debt exclusion override to fund the town's portion of the new Coakley Middle School building project.

This is the penultimate step in a process that began in 2017 with a district-wide feasibility study assessing the condition of all school buildings. The Massachusetts School Building Authority agreed with the district's assessment that the aging building, located on 1315 Washington St., has outlived its useful life. After a competitive process, the MSBA awarded a grant of up to $46 million toward the $150 million project. It was one of only a dozen applications approved out of 72 school project submissions.

The final step will be approval by voters of the debt exclusion override in the town election on Monday, April 4. Pending voter approval in April, the project will enter MSBA’s Module 6: Project Scope and Budget Phase, and it will then proceed with design development and construction bid procurement.

Alan Slater, the chair of the Middle School Building Committee, gave an extensive presentation on the steps that have led to this vote, from the 2017 study to the dozens of School Committee and Middle School Building Committee meetings and online presentations that have followed over the past two years.

"The recommendation that was made was very clear," he said. "The most significant educational facility challenge facing the Norwood Public School system is the lack of an appropriate 21-st century middle school environment," he said. "The lack of appropriately sized classrooms and educational support spaces, combined with aged building systems and components, creates a very challenging environment that is grossly insufficient when compared to surrounding districts. Norwood considered the middle school a priority, and on a statewide basis, so did the MSBA."

As the process moved forward, the School Committee voted on May 26, 2021 that the new proposed building include grades five through eight. This would remove the need for modular classrooms to be added to the district's elementary schools, some of which are approaching the century mark.

The proposed school would be on the site of the current field and will have 320 parking spaces and the infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations. The school will be designed for 1,020 students but can accommodate up to 1,250. Once the old building is demolished, a new synthetic, lighted field will take its place that can be used by the town's Recreation Department.

The new building is a four-story, massed building. The front, which will house the public spaces, will be lower in height and include the auditorium, student commons, media center and gymnasium with a fitness room. Each grade will be on a separate floor to create a community feel and provide a sense of security for younger students.

Coakley Principal Margo Fraczek described the conditions of the current building. Due to a lack of space, Spanish classes are being held in the library, she said. She consulted with faculty and staff and had to prove why every room requested was needed.

"All of that came together in an educational plan that, I'm proud to say, the MSBA said was one of the best they have ever seen," Fraczek said.

Middle school students are currently broken into teams for group learning, which is difficult in the current facility, she added.

One thing the building will have is windows for all classrooms, which the current building does not. It will also have storage space.

"We've taken every closet and turned it into a classroom," according to Fraczek.

Slater added that the project has received "universal support" from the Finance Commission, the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen, and the MSBA.

The impact of the debt exclusion to the average taxpayer will be $386. The amount is based on the assessed value of the property. The project costs less than similar school projects moving forward in Westwood and Walpole. The entire project will be completed by the fall of 2025.

Some Town Meeting members mentioned that the cost of supplies would only increase if the project had not been approved, adding an additional burden to taxpayers.

Member Katie Button mentioned the energy savings the new building would offer. General Manager Tony Mazzucco said the annual energy savings will be $147,000 per year over 20 years.

"The Middle School Building Committee worked rigorously to evaluate the current building and plan for the future of the Coakley Middle School, creating an exceptional building that will provide an extraordinary learning environment for our Coakley students and educators for years to come," Mazzucco added. "We are thankful to Norwood's Town Meeting members for their support of this vision and the Coakley Middle School project."