Blue Hills Regional Renovation Project Achieves Key Milestone

By Judy Bass

The long-awaited school renovation project at Blue Hills Regional Technical School in Canton took a critical step forward on November 13, 2017, announced Superintendent James P. Quaglia.

As of that date, all of the school’s nine District towns – Avon, Braintree, Canton, Dedham, Holbrook, Milton, Norwood, Randolph and Westwood – officially green-lighted the project by giving their approval to Blue Hills to borrow the necessary funds.

“It was overwhelmingly supported,” said Blue Hills Assistant Superintendent for Business and Personnel Steven M. Moore.

The multi-million-dollar project is scheduled to start in June 2018 and be completed by September 2019.

At this juncture, Supt. Quaglia and Asst. Superintendent Moore, both of whom have played pivotal roles in bringing this effort to fruition, feel that it is important for the public to be aware of the lengthy and intensive process that led up to this point and to describe in detail the reasons why the renovations are urgently needed.

In addition, Supt, Quaglia and Asst. Supt. Moore want to express their gratitude, on behalf of the whole Blue Hills community, to all the municipal officials and citizens throughout the District who listened so intently and open-mindedly to the plans, goals and costs of this project, then got on board with the school to help make it happen.

There was no doubt in Supt, Quaglia’s and Asst. Supt. Moore’s minds, and in the minds of others at the school, that these improvements to the existing building had to be undertaken, and soon. “If you want to continue your [educational] mission,” Supt. Quaglia said, “you have to have a place to do it. The need was there from a structural, mechanical and educational perspective.”

All of the planned renovations are demonstrably required to provide a safe, smoothly-functioning, 21st-century educational environment, he contends.

“This is all about ‘need-to-haves’ and not ‘nice-to haves,’” Supt. Quaglia said.

According to him (and vetted by our design firm, DRA), the Blue Hills facility is still a good building in the structural sense, “but in terms of systems and components, they are showing all of their 52 years and then some.” Elements of the building envelope, such as windows and doors, are “tired, rusty and energy-inefficient,” he pointed out. The “vast majority” of the building’s mechanical systems and utilities must be gutted and replaced,” he added.

A sprinkler system has to be installed because adequate fire suppression in a building of this age is a necessity, Supt. Quaglia said.

Asst. Supt. Moore noted that the building is not currently accessible to everyone because there is only one elevator in the entire sprawling structure.

Due to all of these factors, Blue Hills approached the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in each of six different years, filing statements of interest intended to get the project off the ground. (According to its web site, the MSBA is a government agency that “reimburses cities, towns and regional school districts for school construction projects.”)

After issuing several rejections to the school, the MSBA finally indicated its willingness to look into Blue Hills’ proposal three years ago by sending representatives to inspect the building and speak with administrators. The MSBA saw that the design of the Blue Hills facility was very unusual because, in Supt. Quaglia’s words, “the HVAC and the glass perimeter walls were integrated,” making it nearly impossible to work on one without also working on the other.

That development marked the beginning of the road to success. The following year, Blue Hills applied yet again to the MSBA, crafting the language of the revised proposal “more precisely,” said Supt. Quaglia, with the aim of encouraging the experts of the MSBA to at last give their thumbs-up to the project.

It worked. Although a substantial amount of preliminary work was still needed, Blue Hills was now invited into the MSBA’s limited scope repair pilot program for the specific intent of “repairing, modernizing and replacing the building’s failing systems.”

The next step entailed establishing a School Building Committee to shepherd the project along. Supt. Quaglia said that each person chosen to serve on that Committee was selected for a specific purpose, and for their applicable background.

Supt. Quaglia, who serves as chairman, was picked because of his leadership position in the school and the fact that he served on a municipal building commission. Asst. Supt. Moore, the vice chair, brings considerable financial expertise. Director of Facilities Management Gene Mastro is highly knowledgeable about every aspect of the building and building projects at the post-secondary level. Principal Jill M. Rossetti possesses superb leadership and management skills.

Three District School Committee members are also on the Committee, each of whom possess unique skills. Mr. Eric C. Erskine is the assistant building commissioner in Braintree. Mr. Thomas R. Polito, Jr., an insurance broker, has served on Building Committees in his hometown of Dedham. Mr. Kevin L. Connolly of Norwood, the longest-serving District School Committee member, has significant political acumen as well as numerous valuable contacts. Formerly of the SBC was School Committee member Aidan Maguire, whose expertise and experience is in industrial HVAC applications.

Other consultants who work closely with the School Building Committee are the Owner’s Project Manager, Dore & Whittier Management Partners, LLC, of Newburyport, represented by Mr. Michael Burton, Mr. Steven Brown and Ms. Christina Shefferman; the architectural firm Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc., of Waltham; and the construction management firm, Consigli Construction Co., which has offices in Boston and Milford.

Next came the local approval process for the Blue Hills project. The initial phases – feasibility study, preliminary design, schematic design and detail design – were all funded by $3 million from the school’s operating budget and excess and deficiency funds over time, with no costs passed along to the school’s nine member towns.

On August 23, 2017, between the schematic and detail phases, the MSBA took a crucial vote approving the scope and budget of the project - $84.8 million at a reimbursement rate of 55.89 per cent.

The endeavor picked up steam at this point. Three weeks later, on Sept. 14, officials from the whole District attended a breakfast meeting at Blue Hills to be filled in on the project. Then, on Sept. 19, the District School Committee took a vote to authorize the start of a 60-day window during which each District town could be approached to give its permission for Blue Hills to borrow the money that would fund the project.

Supt. Quaglia said that every District town had to take “a non-negative action” on the question – either an outright “yes” vote, or choose to take no action whatsoever, which would be considered the equivalent of a “yes.”

The Towns of Avon and Canton both opted for no action, which equaled two “yes” votes. The Town Councils of Braintree and Randolph passed the measure. The Town Meetings of Dedham, Holbrook, Milton, Norwood and Westwood gave Blue Hills their okay, too.

Thus, of approximately 1,000 individuals who expressed their opinion on this matter at two communities’ Town Council meetings, six towns’ Finance Committee meetings, and five towns’ Town Meetings, estimates Asst. Supt. Moore, fewer than 20 people rejected the school’s proposal - a resounding, near universal expression of support.

Why were Blue Hills’ overtures to its member towns so successful? Supt. Quaglia cites a few reasons. First, many of those same towns had either recently built or renovated their own high schools, therefore, they clearly understood the situation from what he calls “a need perspective.” Second, the towns were affirming the status of Blue Hills’ students as “not just our students,” said Supt. Quaglia, “but their students.” It wasn’t simply about fixing a building, but of enhancing the future of almost 900 young people who attend Blue Hills by giving them a modernized school facility commensurate with the outstanding education they receive there.

Third, he and Asst. Supt. Moore always presented the facts to those concerned in a way that was scrupulously “honest and forthright,” Supt. Quaglia said. “We attempted from the very beginning to be fiscally prudent. We said, ‘Here’s what we want to do, let’s hope you see the sense in this and will do whatever you can to support us financially.’”

As for the timeline and cost-saving aspect of the work, thanks to the efforts of construction management firm Consigli and Owners Project Managers Dore & Whittier, there will be no expenditures for temporary classroom space and “minimal impact” on the student day and on extracurricular activities, said Asst. Supt. Moore.

There is no need to spend more than $1 million on renting and installing temporary modular classrooms because construction performed during the school year will take place on the second and third shifts, with educational spaces returned to “close to normal” during the day. Work on vocational areas, locker rooms, offices and athletic spaces will be done during the summer.

“We’re going to roll right along,” said Supt. Quaglia. He said he foresees no disruptions for grades 9 through 12 or the Adult Postgraduate Practical Nursing Program.

However, some aspects of what typically takes place at Blue Hills will be halted during this process. There will be no swimming lessons, Continuing Education classes or rental of the school’s athletic fields. The campus will be closed at night and on weekends for about 15 to 20 months, said Asst. Supt. Moore.

The district is currently seeking an alternative venue to hold its Adult Basic Education classes.

With the renovation project on track to start in seven months, Supt. Quaglia and Asst. Supt. Moore can take time to reflect on its meaning and value, not only for the students at Blue Hills today, but for those who will sit in its classrooms and walk its hallways decades from now.

“We want to keep this organization healthy and alive,” said Asst. Supt. Moore, “to continue its mission serving students and our communities for the next fifty years.”