State Board Gives Green Light To Waltham High School Next Steps

WALTHAM, MA — The Massachusetts School Building Authority just gave the green light to Waltham to begin the Schematic Design phase of the $381 million high school building project across the street at the Stigmatine property.

At the MSBA Board of Directors meeting Wednesday, the board unanimously voted the project into the schematic design of the project, according to Superintendent Drew Echelson in a statement. This is the latest forward momentum for a project to build a new high school that has been years in the making.

"I am glad that the MSBA has recognized the hard work and dedication of the Waltham team on this project. The work of the SBC and SC has positioned us well and now we will work with the community to deliver a world-class facility that provides all of our students and our entire community the access they deserve," said Echelson.

The MSBA Board of Directors must approve all projects in order for the MSBA ,which is helping financially support the district build a new high school, enter into a Project Scope and Budget Agreement and a Project Funding Agreement with the district.

The approval means it's now time for teachers and officials to start collaborating with the architect to work out details related to the inside of the new high school building, set to be built at 554 Lexington Street.

"Educators voices on these important topics will inform design decisions made by our team and SBC,” said Waltham High School Principal Paul Maiorano, according to a district release.

A little more than two weeks ago, the district received a letter from the MSBA, outlining concerns about the project and requested a response from the city. Last week, the Superintendent's office and the mayor responded to the questions.

Echelson told the School Committee Monday he was confident the questions were routine and that the MSBA would green-light the next steps.

Mayor Jeannette McCarthy and the superintendent said they plan to share more details on the next steps at the next SBC and School Committee meeting.

The project has been long in coming - and not without critics.

For years the superintendent's office has been beating the drum about a need for an upgrade to the high school in order to accommodate increased enrollment and deteriorating building conditions.

The current high school building is 449,700 square feet and was built in 1968, with additions made in 1998 and 2002. Between mechanical, electrical and window issues at the school as enrollment has increased, the district estimated it would cost some $135.6 million to renovate the current building without making any accommodations for larger enrollments. The district estimated to renovate the building with additions, while students were still using the building it would cost about $366 million.

After back and forth between the school district and the city council about a site, the MSBA imposed a timeline for the city, if it wanted to get money from the state to help pay for any of it. The MSBA partners with communities to help financially support the design and construction of projects.

The City Council and the School Committee voted to go with the School Department's preferred location at the Stigmatine property, because of the size. The School Department likes that it would allow for a campus school that would work well with the new education plan. Building on that site would also allow the district to use the old high school building for other programs. When it became clear that the religious order that owned the property was not interested in selling it to the city, a number of city council members had at first voted against taking the property. With a deadline looming eventually, last year the city council voted to take the site by eminent domain.

>>> Watch for updates in this space today. <<<

Previously on Patch:

• Stigmatines To Waltham: No Surveyors On Our Property (Aug. 2018)
• Residents Camp Out At Waltham City Hall For Latest On High School ( June 2018)
• Waltham High School At Stigmatine?: Possibility Edges Forward (May 2018)
• Waltham Residents Rally At City Hall With Message About Stigmatine (Feb. 28, 2018)
• Waltham Mayor Lays Out Case For Stigmatine (Sept. 28, 2017)
• City Council Denies Eminent Domain Taking of Stigmatine (May 23, 2017)
• Stigmatine Official: 'Our Property Is Not For Sale' (May 18, 2017)
• Mayor McCarthy: Why I Didn't Speak At The Stigmatine Meeting(May 17, 2017)
• Waltham City Council Committee Rejects Eminent Domain (May 15, 2017)
• Waltham Mayor Requests Eminent Domain of Stigmatine (Feb. 2017)

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Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff.