Demolition and reconstruction of Burlington High School could cost up to roughly $230 million, the school superintendent said this week.
Construction costs of the new building were expected to range from $161 million to $207 million, Superintendent Tom Flanagan said in a letter to the community sent March 1, while demolition of the old building was expected to range from roughly $26 million to $29 million.
But Flanagan vowed to make sure the cost does not fall completely on the shoulders of Burlington residents.
“We have already set aside more than $11 million to support this project, I will be reaching out for State and Federal support, and we have begun formalizing partnerships that will allow us to pursue fundraising efforts like grants and donations,” he wrote in the letter.
The old Burlington High School building was abandoned in 2020, after officials detected high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a toxic chemical commonly used in building materials in the first half of the 20th century.
Since then, the Institute Road campus has sat empty, while Burlington High School students attend class in a retrofitted Macy’s department store.
Last fall, the board voted to build a new building and tech center on the site of the abandoned school. Local officials expect to put a bond before voters in November.
But the exact amount of that bond is not yet clear. The figures issued by the superintendent were based on “high-level cost estimates,” not detailed plans or designs. And, as Flanagan said, school officials are seeking other funding sources for the construction, having already set aside $11.5 million of federal Covid-19 recovery funds.
Officials are planning a school of between 275,000 and 315,000 square feet, with enough capacity for 1,150 students — roughly two hundred more than the current enrollment.
Architects contracted by the school board are due to provide more detailed plans later this month, and school officials plan to select a final design by April 21.
At a school board meeting March 2, board members admitted that the figure was high and could cause concern among their constituents.
But commissioners argued that the new building would be necessary to accommodate what they hope to be a growing student body.
“I’m hearing a lot of ‘No, no, no, we can’t, we can’t, we can’t,’” said Martine Gulick, the newly reelected Ward 4 school board member. “I want to change that narrative to ‘Yes, we can, we have to, and we’re going to do this.’”
Construction on the new building is slated to begin in summer 2023 and finish before the 2025-26 school year.
