The following District presented on the progress of their proposed projects at the September 10, 2014 Massachusetts School Building Authority (the “MSBA”) Facilities Assessment Subcommittee (“FAS”) Meeting:
City of Pittsfield
Taconic High School
Current Phase: Feasibility Study
Owner’s Project Manager: Skanska USA Buildings, Inc.
Designer: Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc.
The District, the Owner’s Project Manager, and design team presented an overview of the options studied during the Feasibility Study and the District’s preferred solution of a new Taconic High School on the existing site. At the meeting, the FAS and MSBA staff inquired about the following items: 1) the flexibility of Career/Vocational Technical Education ("CVTE") spaces and programs; 2) the overall educational program for both the CVTE and academic programs; 3) the integration of delivery of CVTE and academic programming; 4) the professional development for administration; 5) broad-based educational opportunities that afford students transferable skills in 21st century jobs; 6) enrollment history and recent trends in CVTE student participation; 7) the higher cost of the District’s preferred option; 8) the organization of spaces and proposed adjacencies; 9) the District’s intentions for potential future expansion of the preferred option; 10) the District’s redistricting intentions; and, 11) the District’s associated partnerships with private industries and local colleges.
The FAS requested that the District provide an updated educational program and clarification of how the District’s preferred option is the most cost-effective and educationally sound option.
MSBA staff is currently working with the District to reach a mutually agreeable solution to recommend to the MSBA’s Board of Directors.