At start of process that could take 5 years
The project to rebuild Arlington High School is in the state pipeline for funding, but it must clear a vote in May before moving ahead in earnest.
Reshaping the sprawling school, whose oldest sections date from 1914, is a complex challenge that could take five years.
“A wonderful decision …. Arlington has been invited into eligibility” by the state School Building Authority, Superintendent Kathleen Bodie told the School Committee on Thursday, Jan. 28. “We are going forward with the project.”
Not immediately, though, said Bodie, who had attended the meeting of the state board the day before.
The authority has never faced approving so many school projects — 26 — and it has had to stagger votes, telling when each will proceed to the next stage.
Asked by member Jud Pierce whether reimbursement money for Arlington might be lost, Bodie said the funds are encumbered.
School Committee Chairman Paul Schlichtman compared the situation to that of the Registry of Motor Vehicles, which had changed license plate registration date from Jan. 1 a number of years ago, to avoid the all-at-once crunch.
How Arlington High School, part of it built in 1914, looks today.
Committee’s questions
“Belmont got a 1, and we are No. 5 … It’s not a big deal,” he said, referring to the neighboring town’s high school project, which was approved in the first round Jan. 27. “We’re in the queue to get voted — in May.”
To allay any doubt, Bodie said: “Arlington has been invited into eligibilty. We are going forward with the project.”
Yet doubts remained Jan. 28, because the process is complex, involving “eight modules.” You can see them here >>
Once a district is eligible, it has 270 days to complete certain tasks. “When does that 270-day period begin?” member Jeff Thielman asked.
For Belmont, Bodie answered, it starts two weeks after the Jan. 27 SBA board vote.
Presumably, the same would be true for Arlington following a board vote in May.
Member Kirsi Allison-Ampe persisted. She wanted to know whether we can start working now on some of the tasks involved. See some of the specifics here >> One is forming a high school building committee.
It appears Arlington can do so, as long as nothing is officially submitted until after the May vote.
Educational profile called key
“Once we commence,” Bodie said, “then [all] can be submitted in 90 days.”
Some requirements carry more weight than others, and Bodie pointed toward that is key — the educational profile questionnaire.
“Your vision is what should dictate the building,” she said, “and they take this very seriously.”
Enrollment issues, which have plagued the district since August, would be involved in addressing how the public schools see themselves moving forward, she said.
Bodie cautioned that some of the options to be address would take longer than others. She and Thielman had some experience with the SBA process in the four years before the new Thompson opened in 2013. She recalled the issue of parkland beside the school taking months to resolve.
The superintendent said the whole process may take five years.
Bodie offered a few cautions: The base rate on which the town would be reimbursed could change.
Further, some parts of building may not be eligible for reimbursement. That could include the town offices in the basement — retirement, the comptroller, IT and phones — as well the turf field.
“What if 150 Minuteman students come back here?” member Bill Hayner asked, looking down the road.
“Good question,” Bodie said.
Jan. 27, 2016: Arlington High rebuild is a go, administration says
Massachusetts School Building Authority process overview
Jan. 27, 2016: State agency moves Minuteman plan forward, too
This summary was published Friday, Jan. 29, 2016.
