Master Plan in works for town schools

SWAMPSCOTT – The School Master Plan Committee is recommending a Master Plan for the schools that could cost upwards of $77 million.School Master Plan Committee Chairman Joe Crimmins said the committee is recommending renovating the Clarke School to be used as an early childhood education center, which would house all the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs in the district.Crimmins said the master plan focuses on pre-k through eighth grade and it is an assessment of long-range goals, needs and issues. He said the ultimate goal of the committee is to recommend system-wide changes that would be implemented over a long period of time, which could be upwards of 10 years.Crimmins said the recommended plan calls for housing all students in grades one through four at the Stanley School. Under that plan, which has been named G1, all students in grades five through eight and the central offices would be located at the middle school on Forest Avenue.Crimmins said there are still two options on the table for the Stanley School site. He explained the preferable option would be building a new three-story school next to the existing building and, when construction is complete, razing the existing Stanley School.Crimmins said the other option is renovation and building an addition on Stanley, which could require temporarily housing students in another facility that is currently unused by the district.Crimmins said the costs associated with both scenarios would be similar, but the town would probably get more state aid for new construction than it would for renovations. He said the committee also believes new construction would be less disruptive to students and the educational process.The costs for the G1 option are broken among the three phases. Crimmins said renovating the Clarke School as an early childhood education center is expected to cost almost $12 million, the Stanley School phase of the project is expected to cost approximately $32 million and upgrades to the middle school on Forest Avenue would cost almost $33 million.Crimmins said based on information currently available, the district could expect to receive 40 percent reimbursement for the project, which would mean it would cost the town approximately $51 million.Crimmins pointed out the projected costs are in “today’s dollars” and are based on current costs. He went on to say that due to inflation, the costs would be higher in the future.Crimmins said a decision to move forward with any renovation, addition or new construction project included as a component of the Master Plan would require a new study concentrating on the facility under consideration and it would initiate a series of town approvals and votes related to that project only.