Mosier school project moves forward with design for new elementary school

The approved design alternative #8, known as “Mosier on Mosier.”
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

SOUTH HADLEY — The South Hadley Elementary School Building Committee has selected a preferred design for a new Mosier Elementary School the existing site that reorganizes grade levels across the district.

During a June 4 community meeting, project leaders provided updates on the proposed school building project, including the selection of design alternative #8, known as “Mosier on Mosier,” as the preferred schematic design, which was approved by the School Building Committee on May 11.

The option was chosen based on educational goals, community feedback, site considerations and long-term value.

Under the proposal, Skala Elementary School would become an early childhood center serving pre-K through kindergarten, Mosier would serve grades 1-5, Michael E. Smith Middle School would serve grades 6-8 and South Hadley High School would serve grades 9-12. The School Committee approved the grade configuration on May 20.

Preliminary design alternatives featured eight different options that ranged from code upgrades and repairs, addition/renovation on the existing site, new construction on the existing site or new construction on the middle school site.

The district plans to submit its preferred schematic report to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by the end of June. Updated cost estimates are expected before the report is filed. The project currently carries a preliminary price tag of $113 million, with the MSBA expected to reimburse approximately 61.3% of eligible costs.

Built in 1969, Mosier Elementary School has reached the end of its useful life. If the current proposal does not advance in South Hadley, project officials said renovating the existing building and bringing it up to code would cost an estimated $40.2 million, with costs expected to rise in the future.

Superintendent Jennifer Voyik — who also serves on the Building Committee — Skanska Senior Program Manager Nick Lobick and Chris LeBlanc from Mount Vernon Group Architects gave the presentation about project updates, the selected design option, preliminary cost considerations and upcoming project milestones.

Following submission, the Building Committee, Mount Vernon Group Architects and Skanska will continue refining the design ahead of anticipated MSBA Board approval in August 2026 to progress to the schematic design phase. The goal is to submit the schematic design to MSBA in October.
Voyik said that once they submit a schematic design, they will have a meeting to find out what the final costs would be, which would then come to the town for a vote after that. A potential vote on the project funding may occur in winter 2027.

If the project is approved by the town, the detailed design phase is scheduled to take place through the end of 2027 into 2028. Construction is not scheduled to take place until 2028.

The new Mosier school is expected to open in fall 2030.

South Hadley was one of 19 districts selected from 63 applicants in 2023 for the MSBA’s competitive grant program, which supports cost-effective, sustainable and educationally appropriate school projects across Massachusetts. The partnership between MSBA and South Hadley also provides access to a state reimbursement and a proven, collaborative design process. Each community has a reimbursement rate from the MSBA.

LeBlanc said the design team has been charged with helping the district determine their needs for the new Mosier school. As part of the MSBA process, Leblanc said they were tasked with doing a complete analysis of the existing facility. Through their review, Leblanc found that a lot of the systems have not been updated since 1969.

Voyik explained that if the project moves forward, Mosier students would be temporarily relocated during construction. Third and fourth graders would move to the first floor of the middle school and follow their typical schedule, while grades 5-7 would be housed on the upper floor.

Eighth graders would temporarily be incorporated into the high school schedule, and second graders would move to Skala school. The district is also exploring the possibility of leasing former preschool space from Criterion to accommodate its preschool program during construction.
More information and past meetings can be found on the project’s website at southhadleyschools.org.