ORLEANS – Cost estimates for the Nauset Regional High School renovations and construction could reach $140 million, according to a finance committee presentation last month.
The four towns that are part of the district would have to split $97 million of that cost, distributing the shares based on the number of students that attend from their residents.
The remaining $43 million would be covered by the Massachusetts School Building Association, as long as the project continues to meet their standards and building requirements.
Committee members wondered if the project could apply to waive requirements for the MSBA’s 950 square feet classrooms and 1200 square feet science labs, given that Nauset’s average class size is below the MSBA standard.
“We did not ask for waivers because the school building authority has a template, a space template we must follow. This is a project that Mass School Building Authority are partners, but this is also their process,” said building committee chairman Greg Levassuer.
“They have hundreds of schools, they do hundreds of millions of dollars, and they have everyone follow the same path,” he said.
Nauset High’s class size average is 16 to 18 students, while the MSBA standard class size is 22 to 24 students.
Regional committee chairman Chris Easley said the MSBA really doesn’t allow a lot of deviation from the process. The standards are set to account for multiple different kinds of schools and averages across the region and factors in local school class sizes.
Minimizing square footage where possible would help save on costs. The committee voted to cut 2,500 square feet from the proposed plan and has already decided that offices would be no bigger than 120 square feet.
As the project planning moves along, the building committee said it would continue to look for other ways to save costs for the towns.
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