Superintendent Jeffrey Marsden and School Building Committee Chair Mike Quinlan have provided the community with an update on the Dale Street School Building Project.
On Oct. 15, Medfield's School Building Committee met with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) — a state agency that works with communities to support educationally-appropriate, flexible, sustainable and cost-effective public school facilities — to review the design proposals submitted by area architectural firms. The committed returned to the MSBA on November 5 to move forward with the evaluation and selection of design proposals. Once a design is selected and funding is approved, construction is expected to begin in October 2021, with the goal of completing construction in August 2023.
In December 2017, Dale Street School was accepted into the MSBA program to partially fund the construction, renovation, addition or repair of school facilities. Dale Street was one of 16 schools selected out of the 84 submitted statements of interest.
The statement of interest for the Dale Street project stated that although the school is functional for learning, the building is approaching the end of its useful life span and needs major improvements to be aligned with standards for 21st century learning. The school is made of structures built in 1942 and 1962, with minor renovations to spaces within the building in 1997 and 2000. In its current state, the building is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and does not have the classroom space that will be necessary for the continually increasing size of Medfield's elementary classes.
Since its selection by MSBA, the district has begun a feasibility study with MSBA to evaluate the Dale Street building and to identify current problems and potential solutions. Part of this process is determining whether adding to, renovating or replacing Dale Street School is the best option.
"We are very excited to be moving forward with this project and we are appreciative of everyone who has been a part of the process so far," Superintendent Marsden said. "Our hope is that this project will result in a modern facility that will be a functioning learning space for our Dale Street students for many years to come."
For more information on the Dale Street Project, visit www.medfield.net/o/medfield-public-schools/page/dale-street-project.
