North Reading Secondary Schools Building Committee

Gilbane Selected as Construction Management Company

NRSSBC — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:32:36 +0000

At the last meeting, the SSBC selected Gilbane Incorporated to provide construction management services for the school building project. A sub-committee of the SSBC reviewed each package submitted in response to the Request for Proposals (RFP). The full SSBC then discussed the recommendation of the sub-committee and voted, selecting Gilbane.

Preliminary groundwork is already underway with Geotech boring. The drilling was scheduled to occur over April vacation so that it wouldn’t disturb the students.

Next meeting of the SSBC is scheduled for May 8th at 6:30pm in the High School modular cafeteria. Meetings are open to the public.

Voters of North Reading Approve Secondary School Proposal

NRSSBC — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:08:45 +0000

Today the voters of North Reading approved the funding to build a new high school and renovate the middle school. The finished campus will combine the high school and middle school through a shared common core.

Work will now begin to prepare for breaking ground later this spring.

Town Vote Saturday, Mar 24th

NRSSBC — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:41:39 +0000

The town-wide vote is this Saturday. Polls open at 7AM and close at 8PM. All precincts vote at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, 63 Winter St., North Reading.

This vote determines whether the secondary school project moves forward. A majority approval is needed to pass the initiative.

Presentation from Monday’s Special Town Meeting

NRSSBC — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 02:38:35 +0000

Here is a slideshow of the presentation made at last night’s Special Town Meeting. To make the presentation full screen, click on the icon on the lower right.

If you don’t want to step through the slides, they’re listed below. Click on any slide to make it full screen.

Vote Passes at Special Town Hall Meeting

NRSSBC — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:08:57 +0000

Last night the residents of North Reading agreed to fund the Secondary School project. The issue passed by more than the required two-thirds vote. Turnout was large with over 870 residents spending their Monday evening learning about and discussing the next stage of the town’s school project.

The issue now moves on to the town-wide vote.

The town-wide vote is this Saturday. Polls open at 7AM and close at 8PM. All precincts vote at St. Theresa’s, 63 Winter St., North Reading.

Special Town Meeting Monday Night

NRSSBC — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:39:20 +0000

The special town meeting to vote on the school project is Monday, March 19th, 7pm in the North Reading high school auditorium. A two-thirds vote is needed to pass the issue. Free on-site child care is provided starting at 6:40pm. If the vote is successful, then the town vote will occur this Saturday, March 24th.

The issue is whether to approve building a new high school and renovating the middle school. The total price tag is $107.8 million. The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) will reimburse 51.49% of the eligible expenses. The estimated cost to the residents of North Reading is approximately $60 million, which will be funded through property taxes over approximately 25 years.

The votes this week determine whether this project goes forward or not. Please vote on Monday and Saturday.

February Outreach Schedule

NRSSBC — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:19:56 +0000

As a continuing effort to “get the word out” on the high school / middle school project, here are the dates in February that we’ll be out talking to the townspeople. Please stop by if you have questions that you’d like to ask in person.

Wednesday February 1 @ 6:30pm Middle PA
Thursday February 9 @ 6:30pm High PA
Thursday February 16 @ 2:15pm High School Council
Monday February 27 @ 2:30pm Batch School Council
Tuesday February 28 @ 2:30pm Little School Council
Tuesday February 28 @ 7:00pm SPED PAC HS Library
Wednesday February 29 @ 8:30am Hood PA

NORCAM Schedule: Rebroadcast of January 18th Public Forum

NRSSBC — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:05:08 +0000

In case you missed the January 18th public forum, you can see it replayed through February on North Reading’s public access channel.

Tune in to Ch. 22 for Comcast users and Ch. 24 for Verizon users. Or set your DVR/TiVo to capture the recorded forum on the following days and times throughout the month of February.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays – 5:00 am, 3:30 pm, 8:30 pm
Thursdays – 2:30 pm
Fridays – 5:00 am, 4:30 pm
Saturdays – 10:00 pm
Sundays – 4:30 pm
Mondays – 4:00 am, 10:00 pm

New Video: Updated version of the Aerial Flyby

NRSSBC — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:17:49 +0000

Our architecture firm, Dore and Whittier, created a new flyby sequence showing greater detail of the exterior design. The previous version has less visual detail but is narrated. The new video also incorporates a few rendered images of the building’s interior spaces.

Check out all the videos related to North Reading’s Secondary School Building project at our YouTube channel.

Q: What is the cost of a “no” vote? A: About $50 million

NRSSBC — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:36:39 +0000

If the Town of North Reading votes down the new school initiative, we will still have a big bill to pay.

The existing high school and middle school both need significant repair and maintenance. In recent years, we have been deferring maintenance projects, when possible, knowing that we might be replacing or renovating the buildings. If the school initiative does not pass the town vote, we will need to catch up with the work we’ve been putting off. In addition, the buildings do not meet current safety or accessibility codes. For example, there is no sprinkler system in the middle school or in most of the high school.

At the request of the Secondary School Building Committee, our architecture firm, Dore & Whittier, did an extensive analysis of the current state of the buildings, and what would be required to bring them up to code.

The total bill would be about $50 million dollars.

The estimated North Reading portion of the new school initiative is approximately $60 million, or approximately $10 million more than the expected repair bill. And simply repairing the building doesn’t address the educational space. We would still be teaching communication classes in the modular cafeteria, and teaching health courses in a drafty former auto shop.

Here are links to the: