Watertown High School Project Now $24 Million Over Original Budget

WATERTOWN -- October 24, 2022, Watertown School Committee learns high school project is $24 million over budget. The committee met October 24 and heard that the high school building project, originally budgeted at approximately $138 million, now carries a running cost estimate of roughly $164 million following 60 percent design cost reconciliations. An administrator told the committee the city manager has committed to completing the project and that more than $1 million in value engineering has already been approved, with 90 percent documents expected in about six weeks. Lowell Elementary School Principal Stacey Beeling presented a teaching and learning showcase citing MCAS data showing fourth and fifth grade achievement "almost back to pre-pandemic levels," crediting WIN literacy blocks, math support sessions, and social-emotional lunch groups. The superintendent contextualized state accountability data by noting that 2022 is a DESE-designated baseline year and no school in Massachusetts received a formal accountability determination this cycle.