Norwood School Study Group Pushes for New Elementary and Junior High Schools-October 8, 1965

Facing mounting enrollment pressures and overcrowded classrooms, the Norwood school needs study committee voted last night to seek town meeting authorization for the immediate construction of two new school units: a brand-new elementary school and a second junior high school.

Dec. 15 Target Date Set for Special Town Meeting

The study group set a target date of December 15 for town meeting consideration of the two school proposals. To meet this timeline, the committee will request that selectmen call a special town meeting on or before that date; if none is called, the committee will formally petition for such a session.

The plan requires inserting two specific warrant articles requesting funds to draft preliminary architectural plans. While the Norwood School Committee previously estimated the combined construction cost of the two units at roughly $2.3 million, no updated cost figures were offered during last night’s session.

Study group chairman John A. Abdallah was authorized to confer immediately with Town Engineer Robert Hamilton and the Norwood School Committee to finalize proposed locations for both facilities.

Proposed Sites and the Junior High Plan

Both the study group and the school board have given tentative approval to siting the new junior high school on land abutting Father MacAleer’s Playground off Hawthorne Street.

The placement of the new elementary school remains under active debate. While the school committee favors a site on Wilson Street, the study group has evaluated that location alongside three alternative sites before making a final recommendation to town meeting.

The construction of the new junior high school is expected to permanently relieve overcrowding at the high school level by returning ninth-grade students—currently housed in the senior high building due to space shortages—to the intermediate level.

Disagreement Over Senior High School Addition

While the committee voted unanimously to pursue the elementary and junior high schools, members clashed sharply over whether to pursue an immediate addition to the existing senior high school.

Committee member Edmund Mulvehill urged immediate action on the high school addition, warning against delay and stating the town could not afford to act “Like Scarlett O’Hara, who’d think about it tomorrow.” His stance was echoed by Kenneth Michaels of 49 Yarmouth Road, who urged the committee to address high school overcrowding “before a crisis develops.”

Conversely, John Zahorsky and Thomas Curran of 9 Devon Road urged restraint, pointing out that variable future factors could lessen high school enrollment pressure. Zahorsky noted that upcoming student transfers to the Blue Hills Regional Vocational School and a proposed regional Catholic high school in Westwood could absorb significant portions of Norwood’s student population. Zahorsky also cited political realities, stating it is “difficult to sell too much at one time” to town meeting members. The committee ultimately withheld action on the senior high addition, voting instead to study the matter further during its next regular session.

School Committee Impasse Over Meeting Minutes

Meanwhile, the regular Norwood School Committee meeting hit a procedural roadblock over the approval of minutes from the September 15 session.

An impasse erupted regarding a recorded statement by committeeman Francis X. Sheehan suggesting the floating of a $3 million bond issue to finance anticipated school housing needs and lessen the immediate impact on local tax rates. Committeeman John Cavanaugh objected to the inclusion, arguing it incorrectly implied the entire committee “looked with favor” on the bond idea.

Chairman Henry Diggs and committeewoman Mrs. Mary Hemman defended the minutes, noting that no committee members voiced active opposition when Sheehan made the suggestion during the prior meeting. Chairman Diggs noted that words once spoken cannot simply be retracted, stating, “You can’t take words back.”

After debate over whether to modify the language or strike it entirely, Joseph Curran moved to postpone approval of the minutes because the board had “obviously reached an impasse” and was delaying pressing municipal business. The motion to table the minutes carried by a 4-to-2 vote.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger