School Building Committee

The Douglas School Building Committee was formed in 2008 to be responsible for overseeing the design and construction of new and renovated school spaces.

Members of the School Building Committee:

We have contracted the services of:

Project Management: Heery International: Tom Ellis
Architects: DiNisco Design: Ken DiNisco, Donna DiNisco, and Leno Filippi

We work in coordination with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), who will reimburse the town the majority of costs associated with the project.

Current Status - Contract Awarded!

On February 9, 2012, we formally sent CTA Construction a "Tentative Notice of Award of Contract for General Construction." CTA had the lowest prequalified General Contract bids. The bid was low enough to include the project alternates, the track surface and water line extension, in the contract award.

We are very excited to begin construction. Additional information will be posted here soon.

General information, including information from School Building Committee meetings, is posted regularly to our file archive. Meeting minutes and meeting videos are also available.

Old information below.

The Douglas Board of Selectmen has voted unanimously to present the project to voters for funding approval. A Special Town Meeting will occur on Monday, March 28, 2011, 7:00pm at the Douglas High School. The total project cost is $49.9M, with a majority to be paid for with state funds.

The Douglas Finance Committee has prepared the Voter Information Bulletin, to be mailed to all residents. The Finance Committee is recommending approval of the project.

We recently held a Public Information Meeting on the project. The video of the meeting is available here, and the presentation materials here (PDF).

Project Specifics

The project consists of three components:

• Repair of the Intermediate Elementary School.
  • Originally opened as the Middle High School, this building is in need of major repairs consistent with a 25-year-old building. We will be replacing the roof, installing a new heating system, and resolving a large number of smaller issues.
  • The portable classrooms attached to the building will be removed.
  • The building will serve grades 6-8 and will be renamed the Douglas Middle School.
  • The project includes funding for current educational technology.
  • Total repair cost is $16.8 M. The state's MSBA fund will cover 54.16% of these costs for a net cost to Douglas of $7.9 M.
  • Additional details on this part of the project:
    • November 2010 Public Info Meeting (pages 10-24)
    • MSBA Submittal Information - Specifications and Drawings
    
    
    
• Construction of a New Elementary School, to serve grades 2-5.
  • The new building will be located between the existing Elementary and Intermediate Elementary School (see Site Layout). This land is already owned by the Town.
  • The new building is a "Model School", based on a school in Winthrop, MA. The MSBA's invitation to participate in the Model School program is a savings of approximately $1.5M to Douglas taxpayers.
  • Total new construction cost is $28.7 M. The tstate's MSBA fund will cover 62.07% of these costs for a net cost to Douglas of $11.2 M.
  • Additional details on this part of the project:
    • March 2011 Public Info Meeting (pages 17-25)
    • MSBA Submittal Information - Specifications and Drawings
      
      
• Roadway, Code, Safety, Athletic Fields
  • A "Loop road" will be constructed to improve public safety. Parent dropoff will be on one side of the schools, and bus dropoff on the other.
  • Additional parking will be provided
  • Site parking and walkways will be improved to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
  • A new softball field will be constructed, with two overlapping play fields
  • A walking/running track has been designed. Our current budget provides for all work relating to this track but excludes the track surface. We believe the track surface can be provided within the project from cost savings. The interior of the track is a field appropriate for soccer, football, and other sports. This interior portion is part of the project budget.
  • Total cost for the roadway, code, safety, and athletic fields is $4.4 M. The MSBA does not provide reimbursement for these items.
  • Additional details on this part of the project:
    • MSBA Submittal Information - Site Design (PDF)

Grade Structure

At the conclusion of the project, our students will be located in these buildings, a significant improvement in grade structure.

• Douglas Primary School (current Elementary School), Preschool, Kindergarten, and First Grade
• Douglas Elementary School (new building), grades 2-5
• Douglas Middle School (current Intermediate Elementary School), grades 6-8
• Douglas High School, grades 9-12

The second floor of the Douglas Municipal Center, currently used for Preschool, will be made available for municipal offices to alleviate their overcrowding.

Project Timeline

• Design Development: April-October, 2010
• Project bid process, October-December, 2010
• New Elementary School construction, Early 2011-May 2013. Students in building September 2013.
• Intermediate Elementary School repairs, Summer 2012, July 2013-December 2013. Students to be in New Elementary School September-December 2013, returning to repaired Middle School January 2014.
• Site work (fields) complete Spring-Summer 2014.
• Full schedule (PDF)

Total Project Cost

Total Project Cost includes design, construction, technology, furniture, and other related items.

Additional Project Information

Files related to this project are posted in the School Building Committee's File Archive. Most documents (especially drawings) are draft/in-progress documents. Some drawings show different versions of layouts than other drawings - this is so we can compare options. Most are PDF files.

Some recent highlights:

• New Elementary School: First floor, Second floor, and Third floor. These are DRAFT layouts produced on December 9, 2010.
• Site: Circulation Plan. This shows traffic flow through a revised school roadway system. This also shows location of school fields and site topography.
• Special Town Meeting presentation (November 2010). If you missed the Special Town Meeting, or would like to review the materials presented, the file is online here. You can also view the video of the entire meeting here.

Feasibility Study - COMPLETE

A Feasibility Study for the School Building Project began in 2008 following Town Meeting appropriation of $350,000. The MSBA will reimburse the Town 53.53% for these expenses. The study was completed in November 2010.

The School Building Committee recommends the Town repair the Intermediate School and construct a new Elementary School. We anticipate the new building will open in September 2013 and repairs to the Intermediate School will be complete in December 2013.

The new grade structure will be:

• Douglas Primary School (current Elementary School): Preschool, Kindergarden, First Grade
• Douglas Elementary School (new building): Grades 2-5
• Douglas Middle School (current Intermediate School): Grades 6-8
• Douglas High School: Grades 9-12

The preliminary cost for the new Elementary School is approximately $30 million, and repairs to the Intermediate School approximately $21 million. We anticipate costs to decrease as we move forward with the design process. In addition, the construction climate is such that most projects are being bid at 10-20% below estimates.

We anticipate the MSBA tor reimburse the Town 60.53% of costs for the new Elementary School and 53.53% for the Intermediate School repairs.

The School Building Committee presented its Feasibility Study Report to the Town on November 4, 2010. Presentation materials for this meeting:

• Public_Info_Meeting_Presentation.pdf: The primary presentation
  
  
• Alternatives_Considered.pdf: Alternatives considered during the Feasibility Study
  
  
• Model_School_Presentation.pdf: Information on the MSBA's Model School program, and detalis of the Fort Banks Elementary School in Winthrop, MA, which will serve as the model for the new Douglas Elementary School.

In addition, the video of the presentation has been posted online and is available here. The audio from the first twelve minutes of this video is somewhat noisy due to an audio recording problem. We are attempting to correct this problem and will post an updated video when complete.

Schematic Design - COMPLETE

Schematic Design of this project was approved by Town Meeting in November, 2010, with an appropriation of $495,000. The MSBA will reimburse the Town 53.53% for these expenses. The Schematic Design phase was complete in March, 2011.

Schematic Design is the next phase of the project. During Schematic Design, the Committee determined details of the new building location and layout, details of the repairs necessary for the Intermediate School, location of athletic fields, and more accurate cost projections.

In addition, the Committee will be reviewed construction options for the 1898 (abandoned) Elementary School, located behind the Post Office.

At the Special Town Meeting of November 15, 2010, the Town voted to appropriate $495,000 for the completion of Schematic Design. The MSBA will reimburse the town 53.53% of these expenses, for a net cost of approximately $230,000. The request is recommended by the Finance Committee, Board of Selectmen, School Committee, and Capital Improvement Committee.

UPDATE: Schematic Design funding has been completed. More current information is available at the top of this page.

School Building Committee Meetings

The School Building Committee holds its regular meetings on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00PM in the Douglas Municipal Center. Additional meetings are scheduled as necessary. All meetings are posted through the Town Clerk's office as required by law, and are also listed in the Town's online meeting calendar.

All meetings of the School Building Committee are open to the public and are videotaped. Recorded meetings may be viewed on the Town's online video library.

The minutes of all School Building Committee meetings are posted online here.

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding the School Building Committee, please contact Mitch Cohen, Chair, by email at or by telephone at 508/476-3429.