The Springfield City Council approved the project this week following approval of up to 80 percent reimbursement of the cost by the Massachusetts School Building Authority
Springfield - Drawing for the planned new Science Lab wing at Central High School
SPRINGFIELD – A $32 million science lab project is slated to begin this summer at Central High School as approved by the City Council and is expected to be completed within two years.
The council voted unanimously to approve the project this week, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority previously agreeing to reimburse up to $25.6 million – 80 percent – of eligible costs, officials said.
“Anytime you can improve your existing facility in programs that you offer, you have to be excited,” Central Principal Thaddeus Tokarz said. “It just continues to allow us to push forward and offer our students the best education possible.”
The project will include construction of a new three-story science wing, to consist of 12 new laboratories and preparation rooms. In addition, the project will include renovations of existing science labs within the high school, installation of a new roof for the entire schools and a sprinkler system.
The Central project is one of eight projects statewide and one of two in the region under the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s “Science Lab Initiative,” officials said. The Central project is the largest in the state.
In November, the authority voted to approve up to $5.2 million in reimbursement to assist Holyoke with a project to construct six science labs at the William J. Dean Vocational Technical High School.
The authority launched the science lab program in 2011, setting aside $60 million to assist schools with providing a “top notch 21st century science curriculum,” said Steven Grossman, state treasurer and chairman of the authority.
At Central High School, the initial work in the summer will be installation of a new roof for the entire school and a sprinkler system, said Rita L. Coppola Wallace, the city’s director of capital asset construction.
The roof is in bad shape, and the state’s inclusion of that work in the upcoming project is a “home run for the city,” Coppola Wallace said. Having new science wing and a leaking roof did not make sense, she said.
Central, otherwise, is in excellent condition, Coppola Wallace said.
In the fall, the construction of the science wing is expected to begin and the project should be completed by February of 2015, she said.
Coppola Wallace is working with School Department officials to plan for the construction and disruptions. The efforts including finding a new location for Central’s summer programs during the roof construction and sprinkler system work, she said.
The city will be hiring a construction manager to build the science wing and hire subcontractors.
The city will borrow funds for the project through a bond, offset by reimbursements from the authority.