October 01. 2009
School projects moved forward
Design planning stage for three
By Jacqueline Reis and Brian Lee TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Not every public agency meeting is a thrill, but yesterday, the Massachusetts School Building Authority made Scott S. Lazo of Southbridge one happy man.
“I almost jumped out of my chair in Boston and did a standing flip,” said Mr. Lazo, chairman of the Southbridge School Building Committee and a member of the Southbridge School Committee.
A new Southbridge middle/high school facility on Torrey Road was among the projects the building authority advanced to the next stage yesterday. Preliminary cost estimates for the project are about $80 million, of which Southbridge taxpayers would pay just under 20 percent. Mr. Lazo said the town manager could bring a financial plan to the Town Council in November or December.
Southbridge’s was one of three projects that moved into the schematic design phase in which towns work with the building authority to produce “the most fiscally responsible and educationally appropriate solution” to facility problems, according to the agency. The goal is to develop “a clearly defined design with a comprehensive scope, budget and schedule.”
The other two were Sherwood Middle School in Shrewsbury and Memorial Senior High School in Grafton, both of which would replace schools on their existing sites.
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