Facilities upgrades to the eight public schools in Fitchburg, Mass., would cost between $117 million and $157 million.
The Sentinel and Enterprise reports that a study by the architecture firm Lamoureuz Pagano & Associates determined that Crocker Elementary School, Longsjo Middle School and the North building at South Street Elementary School had the most serious deficiencies.
The Fitchburg School Committee commissioned the report to determine what upgrades are needed at district facilities.
The architects put forth three options for moving ahead with building repairs and upgrades:
- Carry out only "base repairs" to facilities and forgo any additions, renovations or new construction. That option would cost between $117 million and $138 million.
- Build additions to Crocker and Memorial Middle schools, and renovate the North building at South Street. Base repairs would be conducted at the district's other five schools; the total cost would be between $135 million and $157 million.
- Build a new K-8 school at the Crocker site, build an addition for grades 5-8 at the South Street site, remove the existing North building at South Street, decommission Longsjo as a school, and carry out base repairs at the other five schools. That would cost between $133 million and $150 million.
The district's next step is to create a subcommittee to evaluate the facility options.
