SAUGUS — There was a mixture of nostalgia and excitement as the Class of 1967 walked through their former high school on Sunday. It was potentially their last chance to see inside their former stomping grounds before the building is torn down.
In June, voters approved two questions for a $186 million school project during a special election — the first requested $160 million for a proposed grade 6-12 combination middle and high school, and the second sought support for a $25 million district-wide master plan that would restructure the district to include an upper elementary school for grades 3-5 at the existing Belmonte Middle School and a lower elementary school for Pre-K through grade 2 at the Veterans Memorial Elementary School.
Saugus High School Principal Michael Hashem said the current school will eventually be torn down, and the space will become a state-of-the-art athletic field. The new school will be next to the existing building. The principal said there’s excitement in town for the new school — “everyone is nostalgic for the old building, but it’s time.”
“I think people are excited about the new school,” said Diane Doherty, 68, a member of the Class of 1967. “The majority (of us) felt this was so overdue.”
The walkthrough was part of the Class of 1967’s 50th high school reunion celebrations, with an event held the night before at Four Points Sheraton.
Doherty said she felt mostly excited about the new school and nostalgia about walking through the current school. Doherty has been in the building numerous times since getting her diploma — as a teacher and administrator — but she said that wasn’t the case for some of the alumni, who were walking through their old high school for the first time since graduating.
Doherty said she expected her former classmates to be so excited that the building hadn’t really changed in 50 years.
Fred Conti lives in Maine and made the trip down to Saugus for the reunion. He said he came for the reunion event the night before, but definitely had an interest to come back and see the high school for the last time. He said getting a new school is good.
“It’s an old building,” Conti said. “It’s served its purpose.”
Sandra Chaffee, a Naples, Fla., resident, said she moved from Saugus in 1977. Early in the walkthrough, she said everything appeared to be just like it was when she was a student. She said the building looks old, and felt some sadness that it would be torn down.
Chaffee, 68, said the reunion gave her a chance to see her friends — “you never forget your friends. Suddenly you’re right back there (and) it’s just as if no time has passed.”
Audrey Rossetti Brienza said her kids also went to school in Saugus. She said the high school is very run down and needs to be replaced.
“There’s a lot of nostalgia, but it needs to be done,” Brienza said. “We have to move forward into the future.”
