Step by step and decision by decision, the School Committee finds itself on a narrowing path that leads toward the tearing down of Bromfield House and replacing it with new construction. For more than a year, the committee has been trying to determine the best long-term location for its central administration, including offices for the superintendent, director of pupil services (special education), community education director, business coordinator, and their staffs. But it is running out of options.
The first decisive step came last December when the committee voted not to pour an estimated $686,000 into structural repairs and plumbing, electrical, and heating upgrades to bring Bromfield House up to current standards of accessibility and usefulness. Two more steps came this week, after discussions by both the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen.
New construction a best option
School Committee members tentatively agreed last Monday that the best option would be a brand new building on the site of the current offices in Bromfield House. But they also agreed that they needed more information about a second possible location for school offices—the upper floor of Town Hall. The committee seemed ready to rule out putting the offices in an expanded kindergarten wing at Hildreth Elementary School, which had been a third option under consideration.
Interim Superintendent Joe Connelly and his administrative team had drawn up a list of pros and cons for each location, along with a chart showing the square footage required for each function within the school administration. Depending on how many of the current functions are included, the total ranged from 1,850 to 2,250 square feet..
The School Committee turned that list of space needs over to the Board of Selectmen, who considered the topic Tuesday evening. After seeing a plan for the school offices superimposed over a drawing of Town Hall’s second floor, the selectmen quickly concluded that the idea was a nonstarter.
Preserving Town Hall meeting space
As Selectman Stu Sklar pointed out, the school offices filled the whole floor, leaving no space for a public meeting room. Moreover, as Selectman Ron Ricci noted, finding a way to include the school offices could stall the Town Hall project yet longer.
From the School Committee’s point of view, the major advantages of the Town Hall location had been the cost savings from joining a project already under way, as well as the ability to share some resources with Town Hall, such as heat, utilities, and copiers. The major disadvantages were the distance from the schools, a shortage of parking, and lack of an elevator. (The scaled-back plans for Town Hall renovations call for a stair-lift rather than an elevator.) And, as School Committee Chairwoman SusanMary Redinger pointed out, the offices would still be in an old building, which is the problem with the current location in Bromfield House.
For new construction on the site of Bromfield House, advantages include easy access to both schools, expandable parking, energy-efficient construction, and access for people with disabilities. But the drawbacks are the loss of a much-loved historic house and the cost of constructing a new building, very roughly estimated now at $750,000.
K-wing no longer an option
No one specified what problems knocked the k-wing location out of the running. But the major disadvantages listed for that option included poor parking, construction costs, disruption of school activities during construction, and the impact of public access to the offices on school security.
As Superintendent Connelly pointed out, Bromfield House remains usable at present, giving the School Committee and the town several years to plan for whatever capital expenditures may be necessary in the long run.
