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Date: 11/21/2023
EAST LONGMEADOW — On Nov. 7, voters approved debt exclusions to fund the East Longmeadow High School and pool. With that key milestone in the books, the School Building Committee is now setting its sights on the next steps in the journey to building a new school.
Speaking of the vote to fund the school, School Building Committee Chair Stephen Chrusciel said. “It was very exciting ... when they announced the results. There must have been 40 to 50 members of the community waiting in the gym after the polls closed to find out and they responded with tremendous applause.”
The next steps in the process of building the school and natatorium, which will house the pool, will be to refine the design for both projects and hire a construction manager at-risk. The construction manager at-risk will work with the School Building Committee and the owner’s project manager, Skanska, to ensure the project is on budget at every step.
“A site tour for prospective construction managers was conducted at East Longmeadow High School [on Nov. 1] and there were several qualified firms in attendance, including both local, regional and national players,” Chrusciel said.
The committee sent out requests for qualifications from potential construction managers and the responses were due back Nov. 15. The committee will review the responses, considering the financial aspect, as well as staffing, schedules and logistical planning.
“We expect to conduct construction manager interviews shortly after the first of the year with a construction management firm selected by the end of January,” Chrusciel said. After selection, the construction managing firm will add their expertise to the completed design, he said.
Meanwhile, the committee will continue to work with the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which is reimbursing the towns for $82 million of the school project’s cost. Superintendent Gordon Smith said a certified copy of the Town Council’s votes to appropriate the $177.46 million for the high school and $16.79 million for the natatorium will be sent to the MSBA, which allows the town to enter into a Project Scope and Budget Agreement with the authority.
“Then, we set our focus on moving into the construction phase,” Smith said. The School Building Committee will continue to communicate with the MSBA and provide documentation throughout construction, which is expected to begin in fall 2024. Students would begin classes in the new building at the beginning of the school year in 2026. The existing school would be demolished, and campus renovations would be complete by fall 2027.