State-of-art Gerena School project moves ahead in Springfield

A community meeting was held this evening as the city of Springfield moves forward with plans to construct a new school. 22 news reporter Christina Demores joins us live in studio with details from tonight's meeting. That's where I see our and we're talking about the new horrendous school project. You are going to have your dedicated science program, curriculum and space. Everything will be handicap accessible. Springfield public schools held a community meeting Tuesday night discussing the plans for a new horrendous school. The proposed multimillion dollar project would be mostly funded by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The current school built in 1974 has been dealing with ongoing structural issues, including flooding. This building was architecturally different than anything that we had ever seen before in the city of Springfield. The new school is proposed for the old chestnut school site that sits on nearly four acres in the north end. The Danisco design team says they aim to have the new location make better use of space, address traffic flow and improve room for outdoor learning. We're a little bit confined in space, but we're gonna try it. We're gonna figure out how to make it all come together. The project is currently in the feasibility stage of the MSBA process. The next step would be the preliminary design program, which will set the school's layout. Some residents raised concerns about traffic, maintaining class capacity and community space. But I think that its original purpose is still confusing to the vast community because this literally was supposed to be a safe place for us to be at. If approved, construction could begin by the summer of 2028 with the school opening by august 2030. Another public meeting will be held, but a date has not been selected. We'll provide that information once available. We're here for you tonight. Christina Morris, 22 years.