Watertown’s elementary school building projects finished with a surplus of more than $4 million, which will allow the high school construction project to stay on budget, and fund designs for a potential new middle school.
On Tuesday night, the City Council approved transfers of the $4,052,660 left over from the construction of the new Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools, and the renovation and expansion of Lowell Elementary School. City Manager George Proakis said $1,802,660 would be used for the Watertown High School project, and $2,250,000 will go to the middle school feasibility study.
“I want to stress, the high school construction project is on budget,” Proakis said. “The moving of these additional funds into the high school project allows the high school project to float the costs of some of the federal grants, some of the energy improvement grants that the high school project is eligible for until such time as those funds come in.”
Proakis said he also expects the high school project to close out with some sort of a surplus.
The remainder of the money left over from the elementary school projects will be used for the planning for a potential new middle school, Proakis said.
“The $2,250,000 is intended to be moved for the middle school feasibility study, allowing us to continue to move along design of the middle school project, so that we can get better, more refined cost estimates without having to tap into middle school stabilization, having to do borrowing as we continue to determine if, how or when we would do a middle school project,” Proakis said.
The three elementary school projects were funded through the City’s operating budget, and without state money or a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion override.
City Council President Mark Sideris credited the School Building Committee, which he chairs, for keeping the elementary school projects under budget.
“I want to thank the committee for their very diligent and hard work over the last five years in order to get the three elementary schools done and closed out with a $4 million-plus surplus, we timed everything perfectly,” Sideris said.
He added, “The work that the School Building Committee, … I can’t say enough about the work that was done to get us to this point. And I want to thank them publicly, because I don’t think that that group is appreciated, except for the people in the schools.”
Charlie Breitrose
The new Hosmer Elementary School opened in 2022.
Council Vice President Vincent Piccirilli, who also sits on the School Building Committee, said the work on the elementary schools started in 2018, and the district rented the former St. Jude’s Elementary School in Waltham which allowed for the projects to be completed a year ahead of schedule.
“So we finished the $170 million project one year ahead of schedule and four plus million dollars under budget,” Piccirilli said. “That is actually astounding if you think about public projects and how often they run behind schedule and over budget. It is really astounding and a testament to the diligence that the School Building Committee put into this to keep us on budget and on schedule.”
The surplus is something not many communities can boast, said City Councilor Lisa Feltner.
“I just wanna say wow, and thank you not only for the financial benefit, but the scheduling, the dedication, the communication, the transparency involved as well,” Feltner said. “I mean, I don’t think any other community has achieved this in the state of Massachusetts.”