School Board Debates Phase Two of Facilities Master Plan

The Windham School Board held a workshop on Oct. 25 to discuss how to alleviate the middle school's capacity issue.

Citing a difficult economy, the board talked about completing a middle school project in parts. The first part would not exceed $10 million. The board was provided a preliminary plan by Lavallee Brensinger Architects which would add 20 rooms and cost $9.9 million. That plan would include a 30 percent soft cost, which according to Superintendent Dr. Henry LaBranche is "high."

The second part is an estimated $15 million for a gym, library and a few specialized classrooms. Vice Chair Dr. Bruce Anderson said that it all seemed like a lot of money when compared to previous projects.

"With the high school the idea was you could add a gym on for $1.5 million or something," said Anderson. "When I look at what we got for the high school it seems like a lot of money for that second part (of the middle school project)."

LaBranche agreed that the proposal would not address the long-term middle school issues, it would only address the capacity issue. The concensus amongst the board members was that the middle school is the no. 1 priority.

Board member Michelle Farrell brought up one option of going to a grades 7-8 junior high system, which was not included on the original plan. The board will explore the costs of that possibility for its Nov. 14 meeting. They will also seek a second opinion on estimated costs for a grades 5-8 renovation.

The board members agreed during the meeting that they want to feel good about any potential project with WMS, whether they add on to the existing building or construct a brand new building. As it was discussed, any addition project would be under a grades 5-8 middle school model, which would take on more students.

Board Chair Ed Gallagher said that anything that the board would want passed in the millions of dollars is going to take a campaign.

He also suggested a public forum in the near future.

LaBranche presented the cost of the short-term, portable solution. The estimated cost for portables would be $3.6 million, but could be implemented right away since any permanent solution to the middle school would have a two-year lag time.

The portables would add 12 classrooms on the site as well as bathrooms. According to LaBranche, it will allow fifth graders to be moved to the site.

In order to construct the portables, which LeBranche said are high quality and would not have problems similar to some of the leaking portables at Golden Brook School, field space would be used. The $3.6 million budget factors in the construction of two new fields so that outdoor recreation can still be provided to students.

The portables will be purchased, but the board also plans on exploring leasing options. If they are bought, LeBranche said that they would last up to 10 years.

The original Facilities Master Plan featured several different concepts with estimated costs. The committee responsible for that plan looked at every possibility from renovating the schools with existing grade configurations to building a new middle school on the high school site. The committee unanimously decided on a grades 5-8 model that would split the middle school into two houses: one for grades 5-6 and the other for grades 7-8.

The first phase of the Master Plan is the kindergarten addition, which residents voted to move forward on in March.