Citing a request from School Committee Chairman Charles C. Saraca, the permanent building committee voted last night to suspend planning for the proposed $6.1 million Norwood High School addition pending a comprehensive review of educational specifications.

Building committee chairman John J. Egan disclosed that he had received a letter from Saraca asking for a two-week suspension. Egan noted that the committee will revise its project brochure to provide a more detailed itemized cost breakdown for presentation at a contemplated November special town meeting. The original article was indefinitely postponed at the June session.

The $6.1 million project includes 43 additional classrooms, five new laboratories, seven seminar rooms, alterations, site preparation, and an estimated $327,000 Olympic-sized swimming pool for the 43-year-old facility. Egan warned that construction costs are climbing at a rate of 1 percent per month.

Additionally, the committee voted to consult Town Counsel Walter J. Gotovich regarding whether equipment and furnishings fall under state low-bidding statutes (Chapter 30, Section 39M). Committee member Justin C. Barton raised concerns that all items exceeding $2,000 may be legally required to go to the low bidder, a departure from past practice where furniture contracts were awarded independently.

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

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