Last modified: Monday, November 2, 2009 2:18 AM EST GUEST ESSAY: Seize golden opportunity BY DON LeCLERC The Town of Norfolk finds itself in a very unique situation. This past September the Norfolk school system was given the green light by the Massachusetts School Building Authority to go ahead with a project and scope development for a new elementary school building that would house students in grade 3 through 6. The real bonus comes with the agreement by MSBA to reimburse Norfolk 53.16 percent, or $17,277,050. The one remaining hurdle is getting the voters to support the project at Town Meeting in November and at the polls in December. Norfolk has long needed a new school, since portions of the existing building are over 60 years old. Other sections of the building were designed and built in the 1970s with the focus being on the open classroom model. To say that these concepts fall short of today's educational needs would be a gross understatement. Current classroom size also falls well below the state recommendations, in some cases up to 300 square feet. In addition to the educational deficiencies, the lack of an adequate fire suppression system and no modifications to assist students with disabilities just emphasizes the urgent need for a new, educationally sound, building. The group that was organized to study this new building concept (Norfolk School Building Task Force) has been working with parents, community members, school staff, and administrators to better understand the needs of the entire community. Towards that end, the new building has been designed not only as an energy efficient green school that will meet the needs of students now and into the future, but one that is also engineered with the overall needs of the town in mind. The new building will allow for a much broader use of facilities before and after school, as well as throughout the summer months, including recreation programs for all ages. Over the next two months, the voters of Norfolk will have a one-shot, golden opportunity to build a first rate, technologically savvy, multi-faceted, green school with a state reimbursement of over $17 million dollars. The Town of Norfolk, and most importantly the students of Norfolk, deserve and educationally appropriate and safe school to propel them into the future and prepare them for the demands of generations to come. DON LECLERC is Norfolk superintendent of schools.