All five Watertown public schools will be renovated over the next several years during the Building for the Future project but before the work can begin projects must be approved not only by the School Committee, but also the Town Council. Ultimately Watertown voters will have to approve funding.
On Thursday, July 27, a joint meeting of the School Committee and Town Council will be held to start discussions of the school renovation projects. Consultants Ai3 will present their recommendations at the meeting, which will be at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber in Town Hall, 149 Main St., Watertown.
According to the timeline created by Ai3 (see the timeline here), the three elementary would be worked on first. Schematic designs would be created in 2017, construction would begin in 2019 and work would be completed by the fall of 2020. To stick to the timeline, Town officials must approve the funds to do the schematic design this summer. Which of the three elementary schools would go first, or if all would be worked on simultaneously, has not yet been decided.
Watertown High School would be next on the timeline, with schematic design work in 2019 and construction starting in 2021. There is no date on the timeline for the end of construction. School officials hope to get funds from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to help pay for a large portion of the project.
The final school on the timeline is Watertown Middle School, which does not have start dates on the timeline. However, the timeline indicates that school officials would also seek to get MSBA funds for the project.
The Watertown Public Schools have set up the following webpage with info on Building for the Future: https://sites.google.com/a/watertown.k12.ma.us/watertown-k12-ma-us/building-for-the-future
Curious, No mention of the needs that are to be addressed by doing renovations.
Good question, David. The short answer is the schools are old (built in the early 20th century and the latest renovation was at Watertown Middle School in the mid-90s). There is also a lack of space at the elementary schools. In addition, school officials will look at reconfiguring schools for “21st Century learning styles” which emphasizes hands on learning and group projects and relies less on the teacher lecturing to the class. The Watertown Public Schools have set up the following webpage with info on Building for the Future: https://sites.google.com/a/watertown.k12.ma.us/watertown-k12-ma-us/building-for-the-future