East Longmeadow High School Principal Frank Paige, Superintendent Gordon Smith, Town Manager Tom Christensen, Massachusetts School Building Authority CEO James MacDonald, School Building Committee Chair Steve Chrusciel, School Committee member Antonella Raschilla Manzi, ninth-grade Class President Mia Houser, State Rep. Brian Ashe, sophomore Class President Brandon McCloud and students from all grade levels lift shovelfuls of dirt at the groundbreaking for the new East Longmeadow High School.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
EAST LONGMEADOW — Drizzling rain and gloomy skies did not dampen the spirits of onlookers as elected officials, members of the East Longmeadow School Department, students and professionals from every stage of the East Longmeadow High School project hoisted shovelfuls of dirt to celebrate the project’s groundbreaking.
The theme of the day’s remarks focused on the partnerships involved in the project. Superintendent Gordon Smith recognized contractor Fontaine Bros., owner’s project manager Skanska, architects and designers Jones Whitsett and SMMA and the Massachusetts School Building Authority, a semi-governmental agency that helps municipalities with the cost of construction and repair of schools. Together, he said, they were the “dream team.”
Smith reflected on the start of the project in 2013 when a facilities study examined the needs of all school buildings. Some of the schools’ challenges were addressed with capital planning funds, while others entered the MSBA’s Accelerated Repair program. The high school, with its extensive and expensive problems, was accepted into the MSBA’s core program more than four years ago. The MSBA is reimbursing the town for $82 million of the $177.5 million project. The town is also funding a separate $16.7 million pool project for the campus.
East Longmeadow High School Principal Frank Paige thanked the voters who approved a debt override in November 2023 to fund the project.
School Committee member Antonella Raschilla Manzi held her 2-year-old son on her hip while she addressed the crowd. Speaking as an East Longmeadow graduate, homeowner, School Committee member and parent, she praised the state-of-the-art design and said it was a “safe, 21st century building” that will “prepare [students] for success.”
Echoing those sentiments, Town Manager Tom Christensen called the new school a “gorgeous” and “world class building.” He said, “[The groundbreaking] is not just about a building. This is the center of our soul. This building will be for all of us because we’re all a part of that soul.”
Sophomore class president, Brandon McCloud, and ninth-grade class president, Mia Houser, both spoke at the ceremony. They will be the first and second graduating classes of the new building, respectively. “I can’t wait to see how it will help students thrive for years to come,” McCloud said.
School Committee Chair Gregory Thompson has been a champion of the new high school, serving on the School Building Committee and speaking at each of the public forums. He said, “This is a great day, not only for the town but for the students,” who will learn in the building. He added, “The whole town is going to benefit from the auditorium and the pool. It’s really great to get to this point.”
School Building Committee Chair Steve Chrusciel said, “It has been such a long time that you begin to think it’s not going to happen. We were thrilled to get into the MSBA program. You know, my daughter is going to be a junior in the new building. That’s my motivation.”
MSBA CEO James MacDonald extended his congratulations, saying, “Today is a really terrific milestone.” He thanked the state legislature for providing the MSBA’s funding through a cent from each dollar of sales tax. “We at the MSBA are so proud to be a part of East Longmeadow’s tomorrow,” he said.
Construction on the new school will be finished in 2026, with the existing school razed and the campus finished 12-18 months later.
