The architectural firm Arrowstreet will present some of its findings on the condition of the Hildreth Elementary School building at a 7 p.m. public meeting Thursday, March 2, in Volunteers Hall at the public library.
On Monday, Superintendent Linda Dwight told the School Committee that Arrowstreet has been investigating the 30-year-old main elementary school structure, in particular the condition of the building’s envelope, to determine how to proceed with renovations. Consultants have drilled about 80 holes into the inside walls to see how much water has penetrated the building shell, looking for corrosion on steel beams and checking the condition of insulation. Their findings, Dwight said, will guide the decision on how much remediation is needed in that part of the building, apart from the work needed on the 60-year-old kindergarten wing.
Dwight told the School Committee that major decisions on the project must be made by June to meet the timetable set by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which is reimbursing about 40 percent of the project costs. Possible solutions range from replacing the K-wing and bringing the rest of the building up to code, to an entire new building.
Committee members raised other factors that will affect long-term planning for the school, among them energy usage, traffic patterns, and overall site considerations. Deciding whether sixth-graders should be at Bromfield, as they are now, or at Hildreth is another issue that would affect plans, Dwight said.
School Committee Chairwoman SusanMary Redinger said the committee needs a plan it can defend to the town, preferably one that meets the town’s elementary school needs for the next 50 years.
