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Date: 3/2/2022
AMHERST – The new elementary school project was the topic of much discussion at the Amherst School Committee’s Feb. 22 meeting. Among the topics discussed were the education plan for the new building and project status updates.
Superintendent Michael Morris started talk on the project nu making a few points about where they are currently in the timeline of the new elementary school building project.
Morris said Elementary School Building Committee Chair and Town Councilor Cathy Schoen encouraged him to find ways to trim the size of the building that had been in the plans. Morris was clear that she made no dictation of the trimming or how to reduce the size and that her suggestion came from a place of wanting to respond to feedback on concerns from the public about making the building as efficient as possible.
“Cathy wasn’t saying this needs to be cut or doesn’t, it was more how can we reduce the size and some of the scope,” Morris said.
As a result of attempting to meet some of the concerns of building size, Morris said the latest plan has been reduced by over 7,500 square feet and seemed to feel that this maybe was not the best option even though the thought was sincere.
“We lost significant flexibility by doing so,” said Morris. “If you voted this you would be making decisions for the next 50 years of school committees about class size, policies and different things. I think it’s doable at this level but there are real compromises that got made.”
The superintendent then referred to Crocker Farm Elementary School’s preschool addition that was built in 2002 as an example of not having enough space for all the resources needed in today’s schooling. He said the challenge right now at Crocker Farm is that it is “wildly” insufficient for the needs of preschool students.
Morris credited Crocker Farm Principal Derek Shea for working successfully in donating multiple rooms to the pre-K students as that area of the building does not meet the needs of their students. Morris was once principal of Crocker Farm over a decade ago and he said when he was there they never had all their classes in the preschool filled.
“When you under build you really do set long term implications and if Crocker Farm did not happen to be attached to a K-6 elementary school, it would’ve needed an expansion or a different site,” Morris said. “That flexibility matters because we can’t predict our students and we can’t predict their needs over time.”
The superintendent added that he knows there is interest in making sure every space built is used efficiently throughout the day but that was something difficult to even accomplish in all their current school buildings.
According to Morris the revised plan is about 105,000 square feet and 2,000 square feet below the town Finance Director Sean Mangano’s projection. Mangano looked at comparable projects in coming up with his number and now the revised plan is below where the town set expectations on the size of the building.
Morris noted that the project as currently constructed will reduce the size of the elementary schools in Amherst by 60,000 square feet as they go from three sites to two with the new school building.
“When you think about a 50-year project I understand the push for that but I also think you end up in a Crocker Farm pre school situation but on a larger scale so we have to be careful about balancing those interest,” Morris said.
As a finer point on the issue Morris added that the cost escalation has been “wild” and it was nobody’s fault but the nature of the market and something out of their control.
He added that cost escalation has been an issue they have struggled with struggling with and that he and others are concerned about costs.
“My job as I see it is to build an educational program that meets the needs of students, conscious of cost, but consistent with the mission of the district,” Morris said. “That mission includes an explicit focus on groups of students to whom we owe a great educational debt, such as students with disabilities, students acquiring English, and low-income students.”
Following the superintendent’s comments on the status of the project Donna DiNisco, principal of DiNisco Design, gave a presentation of an update of where they are in the timeline of the project. DiNisco Design is the group hired to design the new school building and help manage the project.
DiNisco said they were working on a feasibility study to send to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to be accepted that was cost effective and most educationally appropriate. She added that the creation of the educational program for the new building is critically important and sets the stage for their work.
“We hear you and we understand how important it is in making this the most efficient building possible,” DiNisco said.
DiNisco added that they hope to have a feasibility report approved by the MSBA by June and can begin the schematic design process of the building right after.
In the current draft of their education program outlines the mission of the Amherst Regional Public Schools in providing students with a high-quality education and ways in seeking an environment that achieves equity for all students and ensures that each student is a successful learner and learns to respect others.
From class size policies, teaching methods and structure, to special education and ELL (Englishlanguage learner) programs, the education plan details what the school district strives for and their priorities in putting their students first for the best possible education.
Either Wildwood or Fort River Elementary School will be the site for the new school building. The decision waits on a feasibility study and traffic flow of the area with more students going to one location.
Still in the early stages of this project that hopes to open the new school building by 2026, the School Committee and DiNisco design will continue to work on moving forward with figuring out the best school building that serves the needs of their students and of the districts educational plans.