Schools Community Conversation No. 2, March 2

Options and costs for a long-term solution to Weston school and public facility needs are the subject of a community conversation on Wednesday evening, March 2, at 7:00.

The presentation and Q&A will take place on Zoom.

A more detailed view

Compared to the first community conversation held in November, Wednesday night's session will be a deeper dive (but not the last one) into what it could take — and what it could cost — to reconfigure and improve Weston schools in a broader consolidation.

Emphasis in the preceding sentence can be placed on the word "could", because the Town's Facility Optimization Committee, assisted by a consultant, is only at the point on its timeline where options are being developed. Recommendations are still a distance away.

As was the case in November, the focus at the moment is still on the Hurlbutt Elementary, Weston Intermediate, and Weston Middle schools. Attention to improvements needed at the high school will come later. The lower schools are where altering the campus could require shifting some grade levels to other buildings, which is complicated.

The big, unfolding questions are how to fix what needs to be fixed, how building interiors could be configured for efficient use of space, what else may need to be built, how to provide a solid educational environment for the present and future, how to accommodate a predicted level of enrollment, and how to do all that with maximal fiscal smarts and minimal disruption to learning.

The many options being developed range from the most conservative to the most ambitious. In its most recent meeting, the Facility Optimization Committee focused on both ends of the range and one in the middle.

Various approaches

One option the committee looked at is to do as little as possible over the longest time possible, 20 years, a period in which buildings would be brought up to par without major changes to features. In that scenario, for example, by the time Hurlbutt turns 90 years old it would be good as new but lack modern assets, even by today's standards.

This would be the cheapest approach, although a major downside is that it would qualify for relatively little in state grants, and construction would intermittently disrupt education for a generation.

On the other end of the spectrum, the committee discussed an option to exit Hurlbutt to make way for Town offices and build a new school for Pre-K to First Grade, because those grades are difficult to meld in elsewhere. Modifications would be made to the intermediate school, and the existing middle school would be demolished in favor of a new structure.

This would be the most expensive approach, but has the advantage of qualifying for the most state money and would modernize all Weston education facilities.

Public input

There are a number of permutations between the two ends of the spectrum, all with different features, grant potential, impact on education, and potential costs that factor into what will ultimately be decided.

This is why everyone involved in the project hopes for substantial public attention on Wednesday evening and in future sessions.

Public discussions are most robust when they involve money, so on that subject it helps to keep in mind that the $80 million major school construction project of 20 years ago would cost $120 million in today’s dollars.

It is too early to know if a decision for an investment of that magnitude is in the offing anytime soon, or that it would eventually be approved by the voting public. But it is possible.

Wednesday evening’s community conversation is part of the ongoing STEAM initiative, which is short for the very long “Strategic Town and Educational Assets Masterplan.”

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