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Study: combined middle school more cost effective

Date: 9/16/2015

LONGMEADOW – According to a new facilities study of Glenbrook and Williams middle schools, it would be more cost effective to build a new single combined middle school rather than renovate either building or constructing two new schools.

Town Manager Stephen Crane said the report is an update on a study of the two buildings from 2008, both of which were completed by JCJ Architecture. The new report is currently in draft form.

He said the report includes an order of magnitude cost estimate for the three different building approaches.

“The cost estimates are really to compare one option versus another, not to show how much the individual buildings are going to cost,” he noted.  

Crane added that renovating the existing middle schools would cost $45 to $49 million each. Constructing two new schools at both locations could cost about the same. The creation of a new single combined middle school at an unknown site would cost about $66 million.

“The comparative value between the three approaches is illustrative in that it shows a combined middle school would be a much more cost effective option than either two rehab school or two new schools,” Crane said.

Superintendent of Schools Marie Doyle told Reminder Publications she believes constructing one middle school is an educationally sound decision.

“It would offer more flexibility in the schedule,” she added. “Students could be offered more choices for study.”

Department of Public Works (DPW) Facilities Director Christopher Reed reviewed the JCJ study and compared evaluations with the 2008 survey with the results of the new one in an email to Crane dated Sept. 3. The schools were ranked from one to five with one being the highest and five indicating the lowest possible score.

Ratings that improved from the 2008 report at Williams Middle School included the boiler, which received a ranking of four in 2008 and improved to a five-point ranking. Lighting was not ranked in the 2008 study and in the new study the school received three points.

Reed stated that the boiler rating improved due to a new dual fuel boiler installed in 2014.

Other categories such as office, gymnasium, and corridor lighting, the fire alarm and clock systems, as well as building mounted and pole mounted fixtures maintained the same scores from the 2008 study.

Ratings that went down from 2008 included water heaters throughout the building and emergency lighting. The water heaters rating went from a four to a three and Reed commented that the rating should have gone up due to the new boiler. Emergency lighting received one point in the 2008 study and two points in the new report.

At Glenbrook Middle School improvements included back-up water heaters, the school’s boiler and auditorium lighting. Decreases in rankings included categories such as building mounted fixtures, emergency lighting, and pole mounted fixtures. 

Major upgrades that took place at Glenbrook after the 2008 study included a window replacement project in 2009 and a boiler piping upgrades this year, which would allow the school’s two boilers to run together.

Another potential project that could come before a future Town Meeting for funding is a proposed new DPW facility.

Crane said the DPW Task Force has reduced 20 percent of the square footage on the designs. The project would consist of approximately 42,000 square feet.

“It’s a direct cost reduction when you look at it,” he added. “Our focus is on meeting the needs of the DPW in the most economical way possible and to keep the project cost as low as it possibly can be while still meeting those needs.”

The DPW Task Force would likely present their recommendations to the Select Board at a future meeting within the following weeks regarding a site location and size of the facility, Crane said.