January 20, 2023 By Carol Britton Meyer
School Building Committee members gave a progress report to the Select Board this week on the new Foster School project, which was approved by Town Meeting last year.
“We’re working — moving earth — which is really exciting,” SBC Vice Chair Ray Estes said. “We wanted to hit the ground running as soon as we could. We started in earnest after Town Meeting and will go out to bid for the building construction in the Spring.”
The best news for Foster students is that the temporary play area where the tennis courts were once located is expected to be completed by early February, with the installation of a ball fence and two basketball hoops along the marsh to be completed soon.
Three new play structures — a swing set, rock tunnel, and ball pit — are expected to arrive by the end of this month, and an ADA-accessible grass mat has been installed.
“It will soon be ready for use by students,” Estes said. “We want to get the kids back outside as soon as possible.”
Estes detailed site work that has been done so far, from cutting a new access road from Downer Avenue over the Christmas break and creating a parking area at the front of the school that was paved and striped at the end of December to clearing trees in the hillside and removing topsoil and loam.
“We’re thrilled with the progress and happy with the contractor [KR Rezendes, Inc.], and so far, the work is on schedule,” Estes said.
Select Board member Joseph Fisher noted that “people are aware of the project and citizens are driving by” to check out the progress.
Beyond the outside work, the School Building Committee recently spent time considering the interior design.
According to Estes and SBC Chair Linda Hill, teachers have reported very little in the way of disruption to classes from the site work and following prior notice to abutters, no negative feedback from neighbors has been received.
Estes said the SBC couldn’t be happier with the cooperation they experienced from the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission leading up to the start of the site work. “It’s all been very positive,” he said.
Hill reported that the project is moving into the design phase. “We went over the plans with all the teachers in case any tweaks were needed,” she said. “We’re scheduled to go over the final plans with fire and safety this week.”