Last modified: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 12:44 AM EDT No luxurious extras sought for new AHS BY RICK FOSTER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO - A new or renovated high school that would be based on small "learning communities," improved athletic facilities and possibly a fieldhouse are part of a high school education plan adopted by the school committee Monday night. The education plan, drafted by school officials after months of discussion and focus groups, does not represent a final blueprint for either a replacement or substantial upgrading of the 45-year-old high school. However, it does provide a general guide to what education officials envision for the building project. The plan is intended to define the need for the building project and set out general concepts, and is a required part of the process for applying to the Massachusetts School Building Commission for partial state reimbursement. The city plans to submit a letter of interest, the first step in project approval, to the state in July. The application would have to be approved by the school committee and city council, Superintendent Pia Durkin said. A feasibility study, which has yet to be funded, would be an intermediate step toward replacing or revamping the existing school building. Durkin called the project outline "conservative" and "responsible," saying school officials are not planning to seek lavish facilities or cushy extras in a new school. Instead, she said the emphasis would be on school facilities with up-to-date laboratories, communications and an efficient layout conducive to learning. Left to be decided is whether the city would seek to build an essentially new high school or combine some new facilities with an upgrade of the best parts of the existing school. The original, 1960s building was expanded in 1975 to serve a maximum of 2,200 students. Currently, enrollment is 1,800. The school committee approved a plan to renovate or expand the existing school in 2004, but plans never advanced beyond the committee level. The education plan presented Monday night by teachers Peter Perreira and Sheila Rosa followed months of discussion and focus groups involving as many as 30 people. The plan takes into account existing maintenance problems with the 45-year-old building, and points out that repair of heating, communications and other problems within the building were listed as priorities under a recent accreditation report by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Attleboro High School has been placed on "warning" status by the association, in part because of the condition of the building. The report described the existing school as a "large, somewhat impersonal place" and advocates the institution of smaller "learning communities" in a new or upgraded building. Each learning community would be connected to a centralized administration and support facilities, but would have access to its own technology and instrumentation within an appropriate lab area. School committee member Jane Larkin cautioned, however, that the focus on small learning communities should not keep the school department from capitalizing on some of the advantages of a large student body. The design of the new building would seek to rectify existing traffic flow problems during class changes, along with large classrooms and wide hallways. As part of promoting health and wellness, the report envisions an expansion of physical education and health facilities. Also listed are improved playing fields, including some with artificial turf which it the plan said are needed because of year-round high-volume use. Although not specifically proposed, the report said a field house - a large, roofed facility that could be used for indoor athletic contests, assemblies and community functions - should not be ruled out. The high school currently has no indoor space large enough to convene the entire student body, Rosa said. Although the overall cost of such a large building project has not been officially estimated, the level of state reimbursement that could be tapped for such an enterprise would be crucial. The state has not yet set a reimbursement rate for the next phase of funding, but until recently reimbursement for school projects was set at 60 percent, said Carol Martin, the school system's director of teaching and learning excellence.