Stoneham High School Project Design Explained

The following was submitted by the Stoneham School Building Committee:

Stoneham, MA — The Stoneham School Building Committee (SSBC) approved the new Stoneham High School project and authorized the Schematic Design submission to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) on Monday, June 21, 2021.

For the past two years, the SSBC and MSBA have been working on a feasibility study to address the conditions of the current high school site. The study has concluded that the most cost-effective, sustainable and educationally appropriate solution is a new Stoneham High School. The proposed new building will be constructed on the current Franklin Street site.

The building design is comprised of two wings, connected by Spartan Place on the first floor and a media bridge on the second floor. The east side of the building will house the District Offices, the High School offices, the Pre-Kindergarten Program, academic classrooms on the second and third floors, a gymnasium with an elevated walking track, and the food service and cafeteria area with access to Spartan Plaza, an outdoor seating and potential classroom space. The west side of the building will be two stories with a state-of-the-art Auditorium, media spaces, music and choral class spaces and maker spaces.

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“The demands and expectations of twenty-first century society require that Stoneham students have an educational setting and learning experience that best prepares them for future success,” notes SHS Principal Bryan Lombardi. “Twenty-first century skills of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, flexibility, leadership, initiative, productivity, social skills and information, media and technology literacy have been at the forefront of our new building design process.”

The current design includes an amphitheater for outdoor school and community cultural events, community walking paths around the perimeter of the property, re-aligned athletic fields with turf or natural grass and tennis courts all of which will also be accessible to town leagues.

“Throughout the many community input sessions the SSBC held over the last two years,” says Stoneham Superintendent John Macero, “we heard what was most important in a future high school complex from students, teachers and the community at large. We are excited that we were able to include so many of those ‘must haves’ in this project. We look forward to presenting and recommending the proposed project, once the MSBA has given its approval, and to explaining how we balanced the wants with all the needs to produce a 21st century building.”

The MSBA is anticipated to provide a grant of approximately $49.9 million. The approximate total project cost is $189.6 million with the Town’s share after the grant from the MSBA estimated to be $139.7 million.

“If the MSBA approves this phase of the project,” Macero added, “we will begin reaching out to our community via a number of community events, at Back to School nights, Community Forums, Town Day and wherever we are asked to do so, to share all aspects of the proposed project and explain why the Committee feels so strongly that this is the best possible project for Stoneham.”

The MSBA will review the project submission in preparation for the MSBA’s approval at their August 25, 2021 meeting. If MSBA approval is received, Town Meeting will be asked to vote to approve the project’s funding on October 4, 2021. If funding is approved, voters will be asked to approve a debt exclusion ballot vote anticipated to be held on November 2, 2021.

SSBC Meetings are held twice a month on Monday evenings beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Stoneham Central Middle School. The School Building Committee meetings are open to all and the Committee welcomes and encourages community attendance and input. Details for attending meetings can be found at https://www.stoneham-ma.gov/hs... .

Those who cannot attend the meeting in person can find online versions of the meeting live, on Stoneham TV government channels (Comcast 22, RCN 15 and Verizon 36). They can also view the meetings at any time on https://www.stonehamtv.org/ond... in the Stoneham School Building Committee section. For more detailed information about the SSBC including meeting minutes, presentations and upcoming meetings, visit http://www.stoneham-ma.gov/hsbc.