Estimates on new Marblehead schools project drop by $1.2M

MARBLEHEAD – Heading into Town Meeting school officials are recommending an “up to” $28.8 million price tag on the new building to replace the Glover and Eveleth elementary schools.That will pay for a two-story, 30-feet-high, 425-student, kindergarten-Grade 3 school on the present Glover site and the Eveleth site will be returned to the town for other uses. The figure is $1.2 million less than last month’s estimates.In a 35-minute meeting Wednesday morning, the School Committee voted unanimously to accept the figures of the Glover School Building Oversight Committee. BOC Chair and School Committee member Patricia Blackmer said the BOC “hammered away at the cost proposal” Tuesday night with Michael Rockett and Rob Dana, who have worked on other town BOCs, as invited guests.Town Administrator Tony Sasso and Finance Director John McGinn are at work on figures indicating the tax bill impact of several capital expenditures, including the Glover School and the landfill/transfer station projects, which are scheduled to be financed with 15-20-year bond issues – but the Glover figures weren’t available Wednesday morning.With 40 percent reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority ($11.34 million) the project will cost the town $17.86 million.Also discussed was the School Committee’s commitment to a plan for Glover-Eveleth student education options during the construction.The school department and the majority of school parents favor placing kindergarten classes at the Eveleth next year and 2011-2012, and at the new Glover School in 2012-2013. District Grade 1 students will attend the Eveleth School in 2011-3012 and 2012-2013. District Grade 2 will attend the Eveleth School in 2012-2013. Since Eveleth has six classrooms, this plan will involve renting portable classrooms.Superintendent of Schools Paul Dulac said he plans to use a lottery to move 20 kindergarteners to a class at the Bell School, leaving three kindergarten classes at the Eveleth. However, the town already has 95 kindergarten students enrolled for next fall and more usually enroll during the summer, and with a 20-student class size policy the schools could have one more class than Dulac counted on.Committee members indicated support for that plan, but declined to adopt it formally when Jonathan Lederman made a motion to do so.”People want a level of confidence,” Lederman said, but his colleagues were concerned that bids will not be obtained for another year and there is always the chance that they will come in high.”I’m hard-pressed to see any other option but there has to be some element of caution here,” Dulac said.