LONGMEADOW — When voters at Town Meeting approved the feasibility study for a solution to Longmeadow’s aging middle schools in October 2022, it kicked off a long process that explored whether there should be one or two schools, where they should be located and how extensive the project should be.
Since deciding on a combined, newly constructed school on the campus of the existing Williams Middle School, the anger and fears of abutters to the site has consumed the conversation about the project.
However, Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea said there is a great deal more to consider. He said his goal is to communicate all aspects of the project with the community.
The need for the project stems from the condition and outdated spaces in the existing schools. Williams and Glenbrook middle schools were built in 1959 and 1967, respectively. In a survey offered to residents, 55.2% of respondents rated the condition of the middle schools as “poor,” while another 32.3% said they were “unacceptable.” The top two reasons cited for the town to invest in the middle school project were “safer and more secure schools” and the “efficiency of a single school.”
Dorrie Brooks or Jones Whitsett Architects said schools built in the 1960s have “woefully undersized” spaces for arts and sciences. While “it might be tempting to reduce those spaces” in plans for the new school, she said, the MSBA prevents this because the school needs to meet the needs of students for the next 50 years. The sustainability of the building is also something prescribed by the MSBA, in part to keep with the state’s commitment to sustainability.
Consolidation benefits
Several benefits to building a single school have been cited. Brooks said that while she “loves” community schools, the cost of energy makes a single school the best choice. The town would see recurring savings on overhead by operating one school, rather than two.
There are also academic benefits. Glenbrook Middle School Principal Nikcole Allen said that as it stands, teachers from each school meet once per month to collaborate. If teachers are in a single building, they can meet regularly to talk about what is working and what is not and “bounce ideas around.”
Allen said, “Having teachers on the same page gives [students] an even playing field.” Because teachers travel between schools, she said, students cannot always speak to them on the day they may need to.
She also noted that after school clubs and programs are sometimes offered at one school, while the other does not have the staff or full class size to make the same activity feasible. Bringing all middle schoolers under a single roof would create opportunities to experience a wider range of enrichment.
Cost
The cost of a single school at the Williams site is estimated at $152.19 million. The portion that the town would be responsible for ranges from $91.3 million to $106.5 million, with the MSBA reimbursing the town for the remainder.
Brooks said the team recently received updated numbers on the project. “There’s no surprises” at this point in the project. “We didn’t miss the mark” in terms of estimated costs, she said.
Middle School Building Committee Chair Armand Wray said the town’s level of debt was a consideration when the district was considering when to pursue the school project. “We slotted this knowing that we had debt obligations coming off. This slots in,” he said.
Wray also made the case that now is the time to pursue the project. He said the cost to build the school will only increase in the future. “It just makes sense to avail us of what the MSBA is offering,” he said.
If the code upgrade were chosen by the Middle School Building Committee, the MSBA would only cover work to Glenbrook. The estimated cost of performing a code upgrade is more than $65 million, largely because the school is deeply outdated. A code upgrade would not address space or security issues.
Five years ago, the addition/renovation option was “significantly” less expensive than new construction, Brooks said. However, the Massachusetts “stretch” building code, which the MSBA requires for its “Green Schools Program,” requires more efficient HVAC, insulation and stringent performance-based building methods. For this reason, numbers presented by the committee in May show the cost of an addition/renovation at Williams would cost more than $1 million over the new construction price.
Also, an addition/renovation at either school would require modular classrooms. O’Shea said the school would need 14 modular classroom units for 18 months at a non-reimbursable cost of over $1.2 million.
If the new school is voted down, Brooks explained, the district would need to start from scratch, sending letters to the MSBA each year to request they get back into the program. She also said the idea of going through the accelerated repair program as a less expensive option is not possible. The accelerated repair program addresses smaller-scale projects, such as new doors, windows and roofs.
“Certainly, nothing like the same project,” Brooks said.
Location
Finally, addressing the issue of location, O’Shea, Wray, Town Manager Lyn Simmons and Brooks spoke about the reasons the other potential sites were decided against.
Six potential locations have been discussed — Williams, Glenbrook, Russell Fields, Wolf Swamp Fields, the water tower and Turner Field. The survey, which had a large town-wide response by parents, Brooks said, showed “strong support for the project and the site,” at Williams. O’Shea added that more than 80% of respondents favored Williams as the location for the new, combined school, he said.
Brooks acknowledged the abutters feelings, saying, “I don’t think anyone wants to see a project that creates deep divisions.”
O’Shea said, “I feel like people feel like we are being led by the MSBA, but there is plenty of flexibility to amplify what the community thinks is important.”
Brooks added, “Every project is different. Every community’s values are different.” Community outreach on this project revealed that Longmeadow families are “deeply committed” to athletics, arts and youth enrichments, she said.
O’Shea pointed out that locating the school at Russell Field would mean the town would have to recreate that athletic infrastructure, heavily used by the high school, elsewhere in town, without MSBA funds to help pay for it.
Longmeadow is land poor, Wray explained. He said that by using the Williams site, the project presented a “once in a generation opportunity to reimagine the Glenbrook space.”
If the Middle School Building Committee were to site the school at another location, the town would be left to pick up the entire cost of demolition at the Williams site, including asbestos remediation. According to data from July 10, this is estimated at 2.15 million. Citing the new school on the Williams campus will allow the MSBA to cover some of the cost.
During a recent meeting of abutters to the Williams site, residents asked if they could have input into the process. O’Shea said working groups to advise the committee made “a lot of sense.” He said the project is still in its early stages.
Wray commented, “When you’re starting a new project, active listening, taking in those ides, getting feedback and incorporating it,” is an important part of the process. He added that the committee has been working to make the process open to the community.
“We’ve been meeting for over a year as a committee,” and discussing topics such as academic, financial and athletic needs, Wray said. The Middle School Building Committee has been “very transparent,” with televised, recorded meetings and a website, although he acknowledged there will be work to improve the website.
“I think we live in a time when people are overly suspicious for reasons that have nothing to do with Longmeadow,” Brooks reflected. She said the more people know about the details, “the more understanding there is.”
