PEABODY — The Massachusetts School Building Authority held the Designer Selection panel on Tuesday morning to hear presentations from all design firms under consideration to build the new Peabody Veterans Memorial High. 

Thirteen MSBA members joined Mayor Ted Bettencourt, Superintendent Josh Vadala, and School Committee member Beverly Griffin Dunne to watch several presentations before voting on which firms would advance to the final round on July 14. 

The design firms that presented that morning were HMFH Architects Inc., Perkins and Will, Kaestle Boos Associates, KBA Architects, and Mount Vernon Group Architects. Dunne stated that the selection committee is looking for firms with backgrounds similar to the type of project Peabody High will undertake. 

“We will have this built with our students attending school, which is very complicated,” Dunne said. “That was another thing to look at, to find out which companies have done projects like that. Those decisions come well after some very detailed studies.”  

The two design firms heading to the final round are HMFH Architects Inc. and Kaestle Boos Associates. 

The MSBA and Peabody officials are keeping student safety as their utmost priority while finding a way to balance efficiency in this project through the right design firm that will deliver both of these things. 

The selection of the architectural firm will continue at the MSBA meeting on July 14, with a deciding vote.