SWAMPSCOTT — Swampscott has taken another step towards the construction of a new school building.
In a town meeting last week, the Select Board, along with the Capital Improvement Finance committees jointly discussed site options, grade configurations and financing for the potential construction project.
Architect Leigh Sherwood reported that, through an online survey of Swampscott residents, the School Building Committee had whittled the array of potential building sites down to three final options and presented price estimates for each.
The options include a district-wide school for grades 3-5 on the site of the old Hadley school on Redington Street; a district-wide K-4 on the site of the Stanley School on Whitman Road; and a Hadley-only K-4.
The latter option would be 75,000 square feet, costing between $63 million and $73 million and housing 390 students.
The district-wide option on the Hadley site would be 92,000 square feet, would cost between $71 million and $83 million and would house 540 students.
The district-wide building on the Stanley site is the largest option, at 155,000 square feet, costing between $97 and $114 million dollars and housing 900 students.
The process of choosing the concept for the new building began in November 2018 and has since included 30 full committee meetings, nine community forums and many additional subcommittee meetings.
“We’ve been taking this process very seriously,” said Sherwood. “We want to give people the best option possible.”
The committees also discussed a variety of different financing options for the project, and examined the possibility of two separate buildings as opposed to one consolidated site.
Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald advocated for the single-school project, which would require a significantly lower financial burden.
“From my perspective there’s really a clear option,” he said. “It’s impossible to ignore a lot of the positive financial impacts that a consolidation would have on a small community like Swampscott.”
Assistant Town Administrator Ron Mendes estimated that the total cost of the two-school project would be between $145 million and $150 million depending on financing options, while the consolidated school would cost about $79 million.
This cost would be paid down by taxpayers over a 30 year period increasing the average single family tax bill by approximately $1,313 annually for the two-school project and $710 annually for the consolidated option.
The School Building Committee will decide on an option Tuesday, Oct.13. A community meeting and discussion will occur the following Tuesday, and the final schematic report will be submitted to the MA School Building Authority on Friday, Nov. 6.
