With Lombardi On Board, School Building Committee Continues Work

STONEHAM, Ma. - Like many in Stoneham, Bryan Lombardi is excited about the start of school. But as the new Stoneham High School principal, Lombardi will be challenged by more than just learning the names of the roughly 650 students who will come through the doors Wednesday.

Lombardi also gets to be part of building a new Stoneham High School.

Monday night at the Central Middle School, Lombardi took a seat for the first time as the newest member of the Stoneham School Building Committee. Unlike the 14 other members present, Lombardi didn't have a name plate yet but sitting between Superintendent John Macero and Town Administrator Dennis Sheehan, the former Northampton principal looked right at home.

Lombardi, along with other committee members, spent most of the night listening as Macero updated the group. The 51-year-old Lombardi is eager to be a part of the opening of a new high school, anticipated to be in September of 2024.

"It's exciting. It's cutting edge," said Lombardi, who attended Westford Academy. "Right now I think every school district in the country is grappling with, what does the 21st century class room look like. We've all had very similar experiences in school and very similar buildings. So now we're forced to really take a look at what do our students need, what does it look like. To do that is intoxicating ... to think about the way we design rooms, how we designs our spaces that will encourage students to share ideas, to be creative, to collaborate."

Lombardi had to like what he heard from Macero, starting with the progress that's been made so far. Stoneham is roughly two months ahead of schedule with Macero stating, "We're making excellent progress." If a meeting Tuesday between the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and Macero and Sheehan goes well, Stoneham could take the next step and be invited to the feasibility stage as soon as October.

But Tuesday's meeting won't be easy. The only thing left to finalize is Stoneham's enrollment number. That projected number will determine the reimbursement percentage the town gets from the MSBA.

"The number is very important," said Macero. "We want to get to some sort of agreement because we want to move this project forward."

The town has already submitted its enrollment projections, and the MSBA has done the same. With page after page of numbers breaking down the town's expected student population it comes down to this. The MSBA projects Stoneham's high school enrollment in 2028 to be 708. Macero thinks the number is closer to 750 and will try to convince the MSBA he's right. The difference seems small but with millions of dollars on the line in terms of reimbursement to Stoneham tax payers, it matters.

When an agreement is reached, Stoneham will enter the feasibility stage. The town then hopes to hire an Operations Program Manager before January and by mid-March, a designer.

"When we finally get into the feasibility study, things will start to fly," said Macero.

Earlier in the meeting, Sharon Iovanni told members about progress getting info to residents. That includes a page on the new town website as well as plans to have a spot at the Stoneham Town Day on Sept. 14. The website will continue to be updated with information including a FAQ section.

The committee also discussed plans to visit other towns that have build new high schools, like Winthrop, Wilmington, North Reading and Wayland.

"To have the now and the future tied into a physical plant is fantastic," said Lombardi.

His now begins Wednesday. His future started Monday night.