Central breaks ground on $32 million classroom addition
Date: 7/18/2013
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comSPRINGFIELD — Tad Tokarz, principal of Central High School, sees a $32 million addition of 12 science laboratory classrooms as a game-changer.
“Words can not describe the impact the new addition will have on the students of Central,” he said at the groundbreaking on July 15.
State Treasurer Steven Grossman and Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Executive Director Jack McCarthy attended the event along with Mayor Domenic Sarno, state Sen. James Welch, state Reps. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera and Benjamin Swan and members of the City Council and School Committee.
Grossman said it is the philosophy of the MSBA to invest funds into STEM education.
“Science labs were the way to go,” he said.
School Superintendent Daniel Warwick explained the project evolved from a $5 million proposal to install on new roof on the high school. When school administrators realized the present science labs were inappropriate to serve the size of the student body, the city applied for a grant from the MSBA to build a three-story wing into the school housing 12 state-of-the-art labs.
The state is paying for 80 percent of the cost of the project, which includes a new roof for the rest of the building, upgraded air conditioning, a new sprinkler system and wiring the entire building for technology, he added.
“At any given time during the school day, Central High School is using 100 percent of its teaching and learning space,” Warwick said. “We are thrilled that the addition will enhance what is already an efficient and productive educational environment for teachers and students. Most importantly, we are excited about the new heights of achievement we know this opportunity will afford Central students.”
According to details released by the mayor’s office, “There are six classrooms each for chemistry, physics and biology. There are two chemistry, biology and physics rooms each in the renovated area. The new addition has four classrooms of each, organized per floor and will include shared prep rooms where instructors prepare for demonstrations and student labs. The prep rooms provide secure storage of materials and equipment.”
The description continued, “Classrooms [will] have perimeter counters with sinks, water, gas, power and data utilities, and a mobile demonstration table for the instructor. This creates an open floor plan allowing flexible arrangements of furnishings for lectures, labs, and group study. Specialty areas include a refurbished greenhouse, a centralized/secure chemical storage room and a staff development room.”
The entire project will be completed by December 2014.
Capital Asset Construction Director Rita Coppola said the school will be in session throughout this period and the project is an “occupied renovation.”
Grossman said the investment the MSBA has made in Springfield — other projects include the repair of the Mary A. Dryden Veterans Memorial School and the construction of a new Elias Brookings Museum Magnet School — is “reflection of our confidence” in the city’s leadership.
The treasurer added, “This is all teamwork. This is all about partnership.”
