THE PROCESS determining whether a new Wakefield Memorial High gets built will continue this week with a forum designed to update the public. (Mark Sardella Photo)
WAKEFIELD — A “Wakefield Memorial High School Community Forum” is listed on the Permanent Building Committee’s agenda for Thursday, March 17. According to the agenda, the forum will be conducted via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86897575147.
The agenda will cover project sustainability options, an alternative design option review and an update on the Preferred Schematic Program Design phase schedule.
Wakefield Community Access TV (WCAT) will also provide coverage of the session. The community can learn more about the project at wakefieldmhsproject.com.
After being rejected for three straight years, Wakefield Memorial High School was accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s funding program on Dec. 11, 2019. The MSBA partners with Massachusetts communities to support the design and construction of educationally-appropriate, flexible, sustainable and cost-effective public school facilities. By working with the MSBA, the town can expect to be reimbursed for about 50 percent of eligible construction costs.
Wakefield Memorial High School (“WMHS”) was originally built as a Junior High School in 1960. In 1972, the Junior High was converted into the current WMHS through the construction of major additions to the north and south of the school. Since then, except for some relatively small improvements and modifications made toward meeting the accreditation requirements, the High School has remained virtually untouched.
In 2016 a comprehensive facilities assessment was completed and presented to the Wakefield Permanent Building Committee. The study highlighted numerous physical building challenges, the most significant being related to the buildings envelope and lack of thermal insulation in the exterior walls, poor ventilation and air quality of the mechanical systems, outdated electrical and fire alarm systems, insufficient plumbing and large sections of the building that are not ADA/MAAB compliant.
The facilities assessment also highlighted programmatic constraints that hamper the High School’s ability to provide a learning environment consistent with the District’s Educational Program. There are educational program deficiencies and challenges within the building related to spatial provisions, configurations and adjacencies which limit the rational and functional relationship of programs within the building. Likewise, the absence of some key types of educational and support spaces exacerbates the educational challenges faced.
On April 9th, 2019 the Town of Wakefield submitted a Statement of interest (‘SOI”) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”). Submitting an SOI is the critical first step in the MSBA’s program for school building construction, addition/renovation, and repair grants. The SOI allows districts to inform the MSBA about deficiencies that may exist in a local school facility and how those deficiencies inhibit the delivery of the district’s educational program.
On December 16, 2019, following review of the SOI, the MSBA invited Wakefield Memorial High School into the Eligibility Period. Having fulfilled the preliminary requirements during the Eligibility Period the MSBA subsequently invited WMHS to conduct a Feasibility Study. A Feasibility Study Agreement was executed by the MSBA and the Town of Wakefield on March 25, 2021.
In August 2021, the firm of Symmes, Maini & McKee Associates, Inc. (SMMA) of Boston was selected as the designer for the new Wakefield Memorial High School Building Project. The Designer Selection Panel of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) made the selection from a group of three finalists.
Last January, the School Committee got a look at a dozen different options for the Wakefield Memorial High School building project that had been developed by SMMA, ranging from renovation of the current building to new construction.
The Permanent Building Committee reviewed the Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) in February. This is the second submission required by MSBA during the Feasibility Study phase. The PSR will be submitted to the MSBA in early May.
