On November 8th, 2011, the town of Naugatuck voted on the proposal to spend $81 million to renovate Naugatuck High School. With a 1,785 to 953 vote the proposal was passed and the renovation would start in early 2013 with hopes of bringing the school up to code as well as being a friendly and safe learning environment for students.

Janice Saam, principal at Naugatuck High School believes that “in a project of this magnitude, overall it’s gone extremely well.” Even though there were “bumps in the road” and “trying times” but in the end, she is happy with the outcome.

Saam also explained how the renovation was designed. “There were 4 major phases for this project, each with its own sub-phase, so in total there were 8 phases of this project.” She says it “reminded her of a chess game” having to move classes around the building and making other arrangements for events.

But, Mrs.Saam could not have done this on her own,  especially without her “go to guy”

Joe Vetro.

Vetro has been the main supervisor of the O&G construction crew at NHS, however this isn’t the first high school renovation he has conducted. He also supervised the construction at Trumbull High School and Watertown High School. “You have a fantastic principal,” Vetro says. “Mrs. Saam is amazing in terms of coordination and communication.”

Although Saam says the renovation went well, there’s no way a three year renovation would go 100% according to plan. “A lot of the problems we face have to do with working around the students and staff and making sure we don’t disrupt them.” Vetro finds this very important because “it’s not our building, it’s theirs.”

The staff at NHS also greatly appreciates the hard work that has been put into the school these past three years.  “The school is definitely beautiful. They did a great job and the renovation has had a huge positive impact on the students,” says Mrs. Jennifer Teixeria, secretary at NHS, who was one of the few to only move one time throughout the renovation. However, English teacher Mr. Edward DeCosta, who moved his classroom twice, is satisfied with the work done to his room. “Overall I am pleased with the outcome of the renovation.”

Outside the classrooms, Lisa Green and the rest of the Physical Education Department are very happy with the changes made to their facilities over the past three years. However, Green admits it wasn’t the easiest transition. “Some activities work better in one area versus another, so to not have that space to be able to do our curriculum the way we wanted to was probably the most frustrating part.” Although there were setbacks and issues, the renovation has improved the education of students taking Physical Education courses. “Our area looks beautiful, it’s so much better than what we had.”

Even though most of the building is finished, O&G still have some work to do. Throughout January and into February, Joe Vetro and his crew will be doing “punch-list items”, a list of small tasks that need to be completed by a certain time. Items that would be on this list are touch-ups to paint, fixing Mimio boards, and tweaking anything that didn’t turn out exactly how it should have.

The entire body of NHS is more than pleased with the outcome of the $81 million dollars put into the school in the past 36 months. The completion of the renovation has definitely been the long awaited light at the end of the tunnel for everyone.

Gallery • 16 Photos