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Although it may not look like not much is happening at the old Lynch School, which is slated to be demolished and replaced in the coming months, the process is, in fact, on time as outlined on the Lynch 2025 website. A contractor should be selected in late November.
At a recent meeting of the Educational Facilities Planning & Building Committee (EFPBC), which is tasked with managing major school renovations and rebuilds in town, invoices associated with the ongoing project were approved. In addition, the committee will provide an update on their progress at Fall Town Meeting, which begins Monday Nov. 6, and can be viewed live on WinCAM’s local access channel.
Winchester Special Projects Manager Meg White, the town is scheduled to open the bid process on November 17, and select a contractor in late November, with a projected construction start date of January 2024. The reason the old building is still standing is that the timing will be up to the contractor, who may decide to take it down right away or wait until after construction starts (the new school will be built adjacent to the old one, rather than on the same footprint).
According to White “The demolition of the old school does not necessarily impact the schedule of the new construction. The building needs to be abated first and that could take months. It will look like nothing is going on for a while, I am sure, with the exception of mobilization.” Over the summer, the old school was emptied of its contents; the town renovated the Parkhurst school and added temporary modular classrooms to ready it for use as swing space for Lynch students and staff. “The decision was always to start the students at the Parkhurst so as not to have a mid-year move”
Although there have been a lot of changes for the Lynch students and staff with the move to Parkhurst, they are starting to settle in to their temporary school. Lynch librarian Jessica Callahan says that “We are taking a collective sigh of relief. Principal Chrissy Capodonno and Assistant Principal Anna Nolty both worked tirelessly to get all the bumps worked out. Not all heroes wear capes, and custodians Danny Medwar, John Lannon and Steven Desharnais are heroes who managed to keep smiling even when I know they had a very long to-do list.”
Callahan says she is looking forward to having more space in the library once the new Lynch is built. “The new layout will allow multiple groups to use the library at the same time. There will be special areas for students to work and lots of display areas to show off the books, as well as new shelving [that] will allow for easier access to students’ favorite titles.”
Alison Swallow is a Precinct 8 Town Meeting Member.
