A Solution on Overcrowding

With elections coming up quickly on March 13, voters are facing some very significant decisions that could affect the education of our children in town as well as our taxes. I’ve addressed School Board Warrant Article 2 in my blog, “To Build or Not to Build” on the Windham Patch and in a couple newspapers. In this blog, I’d like to address Article 3, which proposes spending $5,195,079 on portables, of which $1,738,032 will be divided and paid in four installments over 4 years.  I have been struggling with my decision on this article, because I desire to address the overcrowding problem in our K-8 and restore valuable CORE space, but I also have a hard time justifying $5M for portables.

Today, I decided to visit the grounds of Searles Castle, which has been one of my favorite places in the town since I arrived in 2000. For the first time, I toured the former Castle College facility. I heard that they were relocating archives that once filled the space, and thought it was worthwhile to investigate the facility as a solution to our overcrowding issues. I felt like I struck gold for the residents and children of Windham as I walked through the classrooms with Robert Stolarz, the Maintenance Director. It was amazing:

• 15,500 SF of isolated premium space within the walls of an historic Windham site! This is 3,500 SF more than the proposed portable space in a REAL building
• 80+ parking spaces out of the way of current GBS/WMS traffic
• Multipurpose room with a 375 person capacity including a stage which can be used for auditorium, gym, cafeteria, etc.
• 2 kitchens and two sets of bathrooms with handicap accessibility
• TO TOP IT OFF…17 potential classrooms!! Some of these are very large and were formerly used for a college lab, a library, etc.

It is estimated that this entire facility could be leased for $8-12/SF or $10-15,000/month. This would save us over $70,000 per MONTH for 5 years! (If the cost of the portables were spread over this time.) It would have so many other benefits: 

• Alleviate an increase of traffic at GBS and WMS.
• Restore CORE space in Golden Brook, Center School, and Middle School.
• No more splitting 3^rd grade and 5^th grade
• Restore music, media and art CORE space. Maybe with such substantial savings, we could direct some of the savings to our music program including continuing our stringed instruments program through 12^th grade. 

I am not saying that this alternative is without unseen challenges, but for the value—for the opportunity to improve our educational program at such a low cost—I find this option hard to pass by. Food service is one of the challenges that comes to mind, but maybe the nursing home food service staff would be willing to take on 250+ hungry fifth graders. Challenges like this seem to be outweighed by the hopeful expectancy of not having to split the 3^rd graders or the 5^th graders. It enables us to recover from such a heavy tax burden after two consecutive building projects, and it gives us immediate solutions so that we can spend some time planning better for the future.

It should be a process that includes laying all the facts transparently on the table for the residents of Windham who have proven for years that they care about our children. I hope to have the opportunity to discuss this or any other ideas you may have to improve our schools. The only assurance for improving the quality of education that our children are receiving is that parents, teachers, administration, and taxpayers work together as a winning team. I look forward to helping make this a reality.

Shawn Foster
School Board Candidate
shawnmfoster.com
603 300 9548 (mobile)