State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill says he is on a mission to bring "sanity and conformity" to school building projects across the commonwealth.
In the process he said he can save taxpayers money.
Driven by skyrocketing building costs and controversial high school projects in Newton, Wellesley and Norwood, Cahill is promoting a program designed to give cities the schools he said they need at an affordable price.
"We're taking something that's worked and is working and it is built at a reasonable price and I don't see why people wouldn't jump at it," Cahill said yesterday. "And I'm hoping they will. And I'm confident that they will in the end and they won't feel they were taken for a ride."
In a meeting with GateHouse Media editors and reporters, Cahill discussed plans for a program in which communities can build a previously designed and constructed school rather than one from scratch.
If the pilot program goes well, Cahill said he will use the method for middle schools and elementary schools.
"If we can rein in costs to such a degree, what we're hoping to do is give schools more flexibility with the money they have to actually put in some of the unique characteristics that they want," he said.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority, of which Cahill is the chairman, reimburses cities 40 percent to 80 percent of their building costs. Many municipalities could not afford to build their own schools without that outside aid, he said.
Under Cahill's program, the school building authority working with local officials will select a design. Cahill said the state will not keep aid from a community if it determines that a preexisting design is not feasible.
Cahill cited the new Newton North High School as an example of how the cost for a new school can mushroom. What began as a $104 million project has grown to one with a $197.5 million price tag. The Newton project was approved for state funding before Mass. School Building Authority was under the aegis of the state treasurer's office.
Since the defeat of Newton's $12 million override the city has laid off public school teachers and left vacant police positions unfilled.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it goes over $197 million," Cahill said of Newton North. "The city still doesn't have a lot of control of its architect and builders."
He said his model program is meant to prevent that from happening.
"Schools have become guinea pigs for architects who want to try new things. We're staying away from as many fads as possible," he said.
Some have criticized Cahill's program, saying it will make all schools across the state look the same. Yet Cahill said schools do not necessarily have to be unique.
"We understand that one size doesn't fit all but we do think at the same time, we don't have to custom make each school ... we see that as one of the drivers of cost," he said. "Generally our students across the board need to be treated as equally as we possibly can, regardless of what a community can afford to do."
Norwood and Wellesley are already negotiating with the building authority regarding the pilot program. Both have made headlines after the treasurer criticized earlier high school plans for being expensive.
Wellesley will not be part of the model program due to site restrictions, however it will use materials of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School.
Originally, the Wellesley officials submitted a $159 million all-new, 327,000 square-foot high school plan to the state. Their plan was rejected and most recently, the state and the town have come to a tentative agreement that Wellesley will build between a 280,000 square-foot school costing $100 million to $110 million.
Norwood, however, qualifies to participate in the program. Using a preexisting design, Norwood High School could be built for around $57 million, with the state paying close to $43.5 million.
