- Diman Regional Voc-Tech
- Student Homepage
Diman to start compiling plan for rebuilding or renovating school
By Kevin P. O’Connor
Herald News Staff Reporter
It now has 270 days to make those thoughts clear.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority invited Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School to put together a plan for either rebuilding or renovating the school.
If the MSBA approves the plan submitted, it could help pay for the construction, Diman Superintendent Thomas Aubin said. The invitation was issued at the meeting Wednesday of the MSBA board of directors.
“They will allow us to enter into the eligibility phase of the program,” Aubin said. “The state is agreeing to continue funding a school to make it ready for a global and technologically dynamic future.”
The MSBA provides state funding for school building projects. The agency has already agreed to fund up to 80 percent of the cost to build a new B.M.C. Durfee High School.
Diman now has 270 days to come up with a proposal to show the need for a new or upgraded school building and the outlines of a plan to make the improvements needed.
“It is an intense 270-day process,” Aubin said “We met with the MSBA right after the meeting to talk about the next steps so we meet all the benchmarks. We will meet all the benchmarks. We know how important this is.
“This is a once in a lifetime deal.”
The school is co-ed now and its emphasis tends toward computer engineering, health care and the design and construction of robots and machines capable of completing human tasks. The school is trying to prepare graduates for jobs that do not yet exist but will in 20 years, Aubin said.
Westport, Somerset and Swansea all send students to Diman along with Fall River.
“We are turning away 300 students every year,” Aubin said. “Clearly, we have to expand.
“Realistically, we are hoping they will come down and say it is time for a new building.”
The invitation to apply means Diman passed the first step of convincing the MSBA there is need for improvement to the physical plant. The next step is to get the organization to approve the plans for improvement and then to appropriate money.
But the invitation comes as three Diman students received college acceptance letters to Suffolk, Boston University and the University of Pennsylvania, making it the first time a Diman student was accepted into an Ivy League school, Aubin said.
“We are having a very good week,” he said.