School Superintendent Linda Dwight came as the bearer of good news for the selectmen Monday night. The district has taken another step in its long effort to eliminate the mold problem in the kindergarten wing of Hildreth Elementary School.
Dwight told the selectmen that the Massachusetts School Building Authority voted last week to pay 44.6 percent of the costs for the first phase of the project, a feasibility and design study for renovating or rebuilding the K-wing. The MSBA is supporting only about a quarter of the projects that applied for funds this year, and Harvard is fortunate to have been accepted, Dwight said in an email.
Study will present a range of choices
Town Administrator Tim Bragan said he has drafted a warrant article for April’s Annual Town Meeting asking Harvard voters to approve $500,000 to cover the full estimated cost of the feasibility and design study. The state will reimburse the town the promised 44.6 percent of the study’s actual costs, which may be lower than the estimate.
What the study will give Harvard, Dwight said in an interview, is a range of choices for upgrading the elementary school, from the minimum necessary to a major makeover. Architects will determine if the K-wing can be taken back to the studs and rebuilt on its existing wooden beams, or if it should be torn down completely.
One factor in the eventual decision is that the wooden beams cannot support a second floor. With more housing being built in Devens, Dwight said, the school may need more classrooms in the foreseeable future, and adding a second story to the K-wing could be the most economical solution.
In addition to the mold problem in the 1950s K-wing, the study will also address the need to bring the 1980s section of the building up to compliance with current codes for energy efficiency, sprinkler systems, and wheelchair accessibility.
Dwight encouraged residents to attend a public forum on the project to be held Thursday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. in the elementary school library.
A three- or four-year process
The whole elementary school project, from planning through construction, will probably be a three- or four-year process, Dwight said. The project would require two favorable votes from the town—the first one this April to pay for the feasibility study, and a later one for construction costs.
The MSBA will also vote again on the project, to decide what rate of reimbursement it will grant Harvard for construction costs. Dwight does not expect the rate to be any lower than the 44.6 percent approved for the study.
The selectmen voted unanimously to sign a compliance certification with the MSBA to begin the process. As Selectwoman Lucy Wallace summarized it, “We are acknowledging we’re going to play by their rules” in exchange for the substantial rate of reimbursement.
