A New Shawsheen Tech May Be on the Horizon

Shawsheen Valley Technical High School, the technical school that serves Burlington along with Bedford, Billerica, Wilmington, and Tewksbury, is one step closer to getting a new school.

At their December meeting, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Board voted to invite Shawsheen Tech into their 270-day Eligibility Period, during which the MSBA will collaborate with district authorities to determine financial and community readiness to enter into a project to renovate or rebuild this facility, which was built in the early 1970s.

The school applied to the MSBA reimbursement program for the last three or four years, said Tony McIntosh, Shawsheen's Superintendent-Director. While the state doesn't share reasons for accepting or denying schools, McIntosh suspects that overcrowding had something to do with the invitation; 1,300 students currently attend the school, built for 1,000 students, and that's with sophomore and junior classes that aren't at capacity.

An aging infrastructure is another reason the school needs attention, said McIntosh. While the buildings have been well-maintained and might appear to have lots of life left, McIntosh said the biggest issue is "what's above the ceiling and below the floor." Adding modern technology is difficult because the building's ceilings are already packed with wiring. Additionally, a lot of the underground piping is also collapsing–and replacing or repairing these pipes gets expensive, because asbestos adhesive on the floor tiles would necessitate remediation.

💡Why so many school replacements? Many schools in the area were built in the same decade or two, which explains why they all need attention at the same time. McIntosh explained that more than two dozen technical schools were built between 1960 and 1980.

The transformer that feeds the building is also original, and the company that made it went out of business in 1978, said McIntosh. A replacement could cost north of a million dollars.

The first step in the MSBA process involves a self-study, where the Shawsheen Tech District will outline the program and enrollment information that will inform the plan and designs moving forward. This will culminate in the execution of a Feasibility Study Agreement, which McIntosh says might be partially funded by Shawsheen. "We intentionally moved some money from excess and deficiency to the stabilization fund this year," he said. "If we have the money, I'm going to recommend we do the same thing next year. We're hoping to be able to come forward to the towns and have a good chunk of that money for if or maybe even be able to fund the feasibility study ourselves."

While it's too early to know precisely what the plan will be, McIntosh explained that there are complications with trying to do a renovation-addition on a technical school. "I can't have a temporary auto shop," he said, "or a temporary cosmetology studio." He also said that, judging from the projects that are already underway with technical schools, addition-renovations often come with nearly the same price tag as a full rebuild. He said the district would be willing to look into reconfiguring the property to make the best use of the space and also mentioned that many schools are building two- to three-story facilities to make the most of the space they have.

Shawsheen School Committee member, Kent Moffatt, added that Shawsheen differs from traditional public schools because many operational costs are handled in-house, such as snow removal. This helps control costs but also adds complexity to planning a new facility.

The cost of this school will definitely be of interest to residents of Burlington, who are soon to be dealing with tax increases from a new police station, a new elementary school, and likely a new high school. It's too early to say what the new or renovated Shawsheen Tech might cost as much as seven years from now, or how long the bonding period would be, as legislation might be passed at the state level to allow towns to extend bonding periods for building projects. The project cost would be shared proportionately by the school's five sending communities.

Though the project will be costly, says Shawsheen School Committee Member, Stacey Huberty, she's hopeful the Burlington community will recognize the school as the valuable asset it is. Shawsheen isn't the right fit for every student, she said, but it is the perfect fit for some, and she's proud that those students who thrive in the technical school environment have it as an option.

The investment in the building is inevitable, said McIntosh. It's just a question of making short-term upgrades that stretch the building's useful life by a few years or building a new facility that will bring Shawsheen students and faculty into the future.