Having announced last December that it “will no longer use Bromfield House for educational purposes,” the School Committee has been discussing options for relocation of school administration offices with the Board of Selectmen.
This week Superintendent Joe Connelly and three School Committee members were back to explore their alternatives at the March 18 selectmen’s meeting. Up for consideration were an upgrade of the old library, now the Center on the Common; addition of a second floor to the kindergarten wing of the Hildreth Elementary School; a new building at the present site of Bromfield House; and relocation of school offices to Town Hall.
Old library versus Bromfield House
“These things we call assests … are enormous liabilities. They just suck up money. Knock it [Bromfield House] down and get yourself a building that actually works.”
—Leo Blair,
selectman
Chairwoman SusanMary Redinger reported on action items her committee was charged with at the last joint discussion. The first was a cost comparison between renovating the old library and Bromfield House to meet code and accessibility standards. While figures for these specific upgrades at the old library were a bit difficult to separate out, she estimated the cost to be $1.4 million; the estimate for Bromfield House to meet code and have basic structural upgrades is $686,000, as previously reported by School Committee member Keith Cheveralls, who was quick to add that “this does not mean it would be a fully functioning office space.”
‘Bulldoze it’
Answering the question of what can be done with the proceeds from a sale of Bromfield House, Redinger said that the money would have to be used for educational purposes. According to the Bromfield Trustees, she added, the money would go to them to distribute for scholarships. Housing school offices in a second floor over the kindergarten wing at the elementary school is a possibility, and Redinger said the committee will amend its Town Meeting warrant article on the kindergarten wing to include a cost estimate for this expansion. New construction is currently $310 per square foot, said Redinger, and Cheveralls commented that a new building could be built on the site for about the same amount of money it would cost to renovate Bromfield House.
There is also the option to spend $59,000, money already allocated, left over from earlier work on Bromfield House, for an “immediate fix” for the house. With this in mind School Committee members have been asked to prioritize a list of 15 “to-do” items.
At this point Leo Blair broke into the conversation, speaking with obvious frustration carried over from the earlier discussion of Town Hall. “These things we call assets . . . are enormous liabilities … They just suck up money.” His advice on what to do with Bromfield House? “Knock it down and get yourself a building that actually works.” To which Stu Sklar added, “Bulldoze it.”
Space in Town Hall?
The School Committee had asked the selectmen to explore space in Town Hall to house the superintendent’s office; the committee wanted to raise this possibility before the new plan for Town Hall is finalized. Redinger said there would be the advantage of shared resources if the school administrative offices were located close to the town offices, particularly the finance director’s. On the other hand, commented Selectwoman Lucy Wallace, there are advantages to having the administrative offices right next to the schools. There is currently no provision in the Town Hall plan, and Chairwoman Marie Sobalvarro said the only possible space is on the second floor, where a large meeting room is currently proposed, with bathrooms and a possible conference room.
School officials are looking for a total of 2,200 square feet of office space, but would consider splitting the space if a Town Hall location were possible, Connelly said. In that event, the superintendent’s office and school business office could move to the second floor of Town Hall, while the community education and special education offices would occupy space somewhere in the schools.
Bromfield House ‘not in crisis’
Asked for the location he favors, Connelly replied, “The schools would function well in Town Hall. We would only need 1500 square feet.” He went on to say that because of projected declining enrollment, three classrooms at Hildreth Elementary could be empty, but he thinks it would be unwise to use this space for offices as enrollment is so unpredictable. He said expanding the kindergarten wing would be “good,” as would a new building on the Bromfield House site. But, he added, there is time; “the building is not in crisis.”
Next steps include Redinger’s giving the selectmen more specific space needs for offices in Town Hall, number of offices, and a joint meeting later in April after the results of the School Committee’s kindergarten wing article are known.
‘The whole world is
moving forward except Harvard’
“The whole world is moving forward except Harvard,” said Blair, but one thing both boards seemed to implicitly agree on is that the last thing Harvard needs is another empty building in the center of town.
