NR School Building Project Questions Answered

Residents attended the Board of Selectmen’s Informational Hearing on Monday night regarding the with questions. 

Here are some of the questions presented at the meeting:

What will we gain if the project does not pass?

“Educationally, we will gain zero,” Selectmen Sean Delaney said.

If residents vote against the , the town will still have to pay about to the current and , according to school officials. 

What will the phasing be like?

Delaney noted that the phasing for this project will not be similar to the phasing of the when it was renovated. Students were sent to Stoneham when the Batchelder School was redone. However, with this project, the new high school will be built first and is projected to be completed in the fall of 2014. The middle school students will then go to the old high school while the middle school is worked on. The middle school is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2015.

Regarding shared use, how will the kids be separated?

“We have taken extreme care to maintain separation,” said Selectmen Chairman Bob Mauceri.

The students will start school at different times, the high school students start first. The cafeteria will have separate spaces for the high school and middle school students. They will not use the library or auditorium at the same times.

“It’s been well thought out, well planned,” said Selectman Mike Prisco.

If you have additional questions about the school building project, there will be tours this Saturday March 10 at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the middle school and 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the high school.