Old Colony looks to build new school behind current site

ROCHESTER — Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School has entered the latest phase in a long-term plan to construct a new school building, Superintendent Aaron Polansky said.

A new school would replace the current 50-year-old structure and would accommodate three additional trade options, he said. These three new shops need HVAC/R, which is heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, plumbing, and dental assisting to meet current trade demands, he added.

The new building would also provide added space and updated equipment that better reflect current vocational standards, he said. 

The new structure as currently proposed would be located just behind the current site. The structure would include two floors because it is “more cost-effective to build up than out,’’ Polansky said. 

This placement of the building will not alter current athletic fields, which potentially saves $10 million off the overall cost, he said. 

A new school would also allow more students to be accepted into the programs, he said. The school currently receives more than 300 applications for 140 to 150 spots. 

The school takes in students from Rochester, Mattapoisett, Lakeville, Carver and Acushnet.

The current building falls well short of state standards for square footage in a variety of areas, including metal fabrication, computer science, automotive and carpentry.

The space constraints impact students and staff on a daily basis, Polansky said, with closets housing needed services. 

For example, student intervention services are housed in half of a supply closet, a school psychologist uses a closet housed on the back of the stage and the athletic trainer provides services to student athletes in a one-time custodial supply closet, according to Polansky.

The plan for potential new construction began in May 2021 when school representatives issued a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Administration, which agreed about a year later to allow the school to move forward.

In the spring of 2024, the five members from each towns voted to support a $1 million Feasibility Study for the project. Each town is supporting a portion of the $500,000 debt. Old Colony is contributing another $500,000 from stabilization.

The project is currently in the schematic design phase, when the design team transforms the concept of the new school into physical plans and layouts.

Once this is done, Polansky said, a better sense of potential costs to the communities will be developed. 

The project is likely eligible for a state reimbursement rate of just over 54%. Polansky noted that this reimbursement rate only applies to eligible costs and not to every penny spent on the project. 

“It’s important we don’t overpromise and underdeliver,’’ he said. 

When the schematic design phase ends, likely in the summer, the school will provide “very accurate numbers’’ to the community. Informational sessions will also be planned to update the communities, he said. 

“We want to make this process transparent’’ and provide necessary information to the community, he said. 

The work is overseen by the School Building Committee, which includes representatives from all five towns.

The school has a website on the project and its updates at oldcolony.us/msba-information/.