Proposed Saugus high school advances in approval process

SAUGUS – Plans for a new Saugus high school have made it to the next level.Superintendent Michael Tempesta was recently notified by the Massachusetts School Building Authority that the statement of interest for a new high school had passed its latest approval phase and will now take part in a Senior Study.”We have made it to the next stage,” he said.He explained that the Senior Study will pinpoint the various programs and facilities that were outlined in the statement of interest and submitted to the state last spring for replacement of the 61-year-old building.SOI documents state that at the time of its construction, the high school had “a projected life of 50 years.”Some of the 12 problem areas identified by Cambridge architecture firm Symmes Maini & McKee Associates included the “lack of full 360-foot fire access around the exterior of the building, absence of code-compliant railings and guardrails in occupied areas, air quality problems created by malfunctioning heating and ventilating equipment, frozen dampers and vinyl asbestos tile that has worn through to the concrete in some corridors.”MSBA officials are scheduled to arrive at the high school at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 9 to begin the next phase.”A Senior Study is not an invitation to work with the MSBA, but is part of the due diligence review phase of the process,” said Tempesta.He added that there was a sigh of relief upon learning that Saugus had made it to the next round, as there were 100 other projects awaiting approval.”There is always concern,” said Tempesta.Should a new high school be built, he explained that the tentative plan is to build in the same location as the current high school. In addition, a new high school would feature a state-of-the-art security system, improved science labs as well as “expandable classrooms and learning areas.””There will be more up-to-date facilities that foster 21st century learning opportunities more efficiently than the current high school,” said Tempesta.The superintendent explained that the next step following the Senior Study is an Eligibility Study, during which time the size and cost of the new building will be decided.”It is important to remember that although we are very excited about the Senior Study, we are still very early on in the process,” said Tempesta, adding that it is “way too early and speculative at this stage.”