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The long road to replacing the aging roofs at Josiah Haynes and General John Nixon elementary schools has reached a milestone: both projects have completed the public bidding process and the bids came in under budget. Greenwood Industries has been selected as the general contractor for both jobs, according to a memo from Combined Facilities Director Sandra Duran.
The under-budget result is welcome news for a project that has had its share of financial twists. When MSBA estimates arrived in the fall of 2025, the cost projections came in far above initial ballpark figures — roughly $3 million for the Haynes roof and $1.6 million for Nixon — raising concerns about the timeline and scope. The design team noted the final budget would become clearer once the MSBA signed off in late October of that year.
The projects have been years in the making. Both roof replacement projects were approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority to proceed through its Accelerated Repair Program, putting the Town and Sudbury Public Schools on a pre-determined MSBA schedule. The MSBA voted to commit to reimbursing the Town for 41.32% of the project cost, better than the 31% baseline reimbursement rate the state formula starts with.
Articles to fund the projects were indefinitely postponed at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting because the Town was still waiting on formal estimates, with the MSBA process allowing funding to be appropriated at a later date once numbers were in hand. Voters ultimately approved the funding at a December 2025 Special Town Meeting and at an ensuing Special Town Election in January of 2026.
The Haynes roof is 28 years old and the Nixon roof is 33 years old. Both roofs have exceeded their useful lives and have been actively leaking, threatening classrooms and equipment.
Now that Greenwood Industries has been awarded both contracts, Duran said the district will review construction schedules and logistics plans with school administrators to ensure safe and efficient implementation during the summer construction season. No start date has been announced pending final execution of the contracts.
Duran’s complete update on SPS capital projects is on page 80 of the SPS School Committee meeting packet below.