Consultant Identifies $42M in School Needs

A consultant has identified more than $42 million in needs for Seekonk Public Schools.

Dan Phillips of Colliers told the school committee Monday about the conditions of the four schools, how many classrooms are being used, and enrollment projections.

The firm conducted an assessment of the buildings last summer as part of the district’s strategic plan.

Aitken Elementary School has $3.4 million in needs, including a new roof, gymnasium floor, and “longer-term” HVAC issues, according to Phillips.

Martin Elementary School has $6 million in needs, including the repaving of parking lots and roadways, a new roof, interior finishes, and long-term HVAC issues.

$15 million worth of needs were identified for Hurley Middle School, including an HVAC system, roof replacement, upgrade of the electrical service and distribution panels, exterior masonry, and work on the parking areas.

$17.9 million worth of needs were identified for Seekonk High School, including a new roof, locker rooms, an HVAC system, and an upgrade of interior finishes due to the age of the building.

Phillips said school district enrollment would increase from 10 to 27 percent over the next 10 years, although a 19 percent increase is most probable. Hurley and Seekonk High School would end up with larger classes as a result. To keep class sizes at an acceptable level, more classrooms need to be utilized, Phillips noted.

A 10 classroom addition to Aitken was completed in June 2021 at a cost of $11 million. Voters approved the funding at the May 2019 Spring Town Meeting. The school committee formed an ad hoc building committee to oversee the project. Some members of the Board of Selectmen had questioned the need for the expansion due to lower than anticipated enrollment figures for the 2021-2022 school year.

Phillips outlined several options, including keeping the grade configuration the same and fixing the buildings, making Aitken a pre-kindergarten through Grade 2 and Martin for grades three through 5, or taking the fifth grade out of the elementary schools and adding that to Hurley.

Another idea Phillips proposed would be the construction of a new middle school designed for grades five through eight, or adding classrooms to Hurley.

“The expectation is that we are going to have a 20 percent growth in our student population,” said committee member Kyle Juckett. “These numbers could potentially be quite lower.”

Committee member Noah Escaler noted more teachers would need to be hired if more classrooms are added to the schools.

“I love that we have all this influx and people moving in. I just want to make sure we all look at this with a very frugal eye. I think the facilities study is good but we need to take a slow roll on it and look at many different options,” Escaler added.