New Putnam Vocational-Technical Academy opens in Springfield to cheers and high hopes
Reprinted from Masslive.com
Published: Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 4:00 PM
SPRINGFIELD – The new, $114 million Roger L. Putnam Vocational-Technical Academy formally opened Wednesday to cheers and applause and with the expectation that it will provide state-of-the-art technology and training to thousands of current and future vocational students.
Local and state officials, alumni, school staff, parents and students gathered under two large white tents to mark the grand opening of the new vocational high school at 1300 State St. Nearby, construction crews continued to demolish the old vocational school.
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” said Raymond Wholly, whose daughter Callie, 17, is preparing for her senior year at Putnam. “It’s state-of the art. She’s an honors student, and very excited about her senior year.”
“I think it’s a lot better,” Callie said. “It’s a better environment.”
Edward W. Demetrion, a 1974 graduate of the old Putnam, was among those marveling at the new building.
“I had a great education at the old building,” Demetrion said. “For inner city kids who have a tough life, to be given a school of this caliber, makes them feel from their initial step through the doors that they are important because now they have the best of the best.”
State Treasurer Steven Grossman, who serves as chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, were among the many local and state officials attending the ribbon cutting ceremony which was followed by many people taking a limited tour of the new building.
The new school is “a testimony to investing in the future,” and represents a partnership of educational leadership and business leadership, Grossman said.
Sarno praised local and state officials for their partnership in creating a state-of-the-art vocational school.
The school construction project was one of the last in the state that received approval for 90 percent state reimbursement.
Rita L. Coppola-Wallace, the city’s director of capital asset construction, said the project came in “under budget and slightly ahead of schedule.” The project was initially estimated to cost $125 million, and the state authority agreed to transfer the savings toward the cost of renovating and expanding Forest Park Middle School.
The opening of the new vocational school is “a glorious day” in Springfield, Coppola-Wallace said.
Lisa Haygood, a social studies teacher at Putnam, said she is “ecstatic” about the new building.
“I feel it will give our students a better sense of pride in the school and a new, fresh start to the school year,” Haygood said.
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