Hurley Middle School Study on Seekonk Town Warrant

A feasibility study for a renovation or construction project at Hurley Middle School will be put before voters at the Fall Town Meeting on November 9. The amount requested is $1.75 million.

The school department has already submitted an application to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for consideration.

The middle school was built in the 1950s and has experienced many problems, including a faulty heating system. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on repairs.

Superintendent Rebecca Kidwell noted a problem with the building’s septic system recently.

“There’s some weird stuff that’s happened over the last 70 years of updating and modifying this building,” Kidwell said at a joint meeting with the Select Board and Finance Committee on October 21.

“The point of the feasibility study is to discover all of that and decide what will be the most responsible thing. One reason for the cost potentially being higher, we’re also potentially exploring a co-located middle school/high school which my assumption is, might have to be on a different site than Hurley Middle School is currently on based on proximity to the water source, based on the ledge that we believe is behind (the middle school),” Kidwell continued.

Kidwell noted the property which used to house the Firefly golf course could be a new location.

“If we were doing new construction on Firefly for two buildings, that would be a much larger expense and that would address any needs with the high school building being usable for high school purposes.”

Another issue which was brought up was a lack of classrooms for a growing student population.

“We’ve outgrown our schools,” said school committee member Emily Field. “Kids are in places they shouldn’t be, teachers are in closets basically.”

Select Board Chair Gary Sagar expressed his reservations about building two new schools.

“I really do struggle with that and I’ve talked to many people who feel the same way. I certainly want what’s best for the students and for the taxpayers, but to even entertain a couple hundred million dollars for new schools, I don’t see that happening,” Sagar said.

The Select Board and School Committee members agreed a debt exclusion was a better alternative than taking funds from the town’s stabilization fund.

Kidwell said the MSBA can provide 54 percent reimbursement of the construction costs for the project. A special election would need to be held before April in order to make the deadline for the MSBA. Although the school department is asking for $1.75 million, Kidwell said the goal is to do the study for much less than that amount.

“We have no intention of going to the limit and frivolously spending $1.75 million,” Kidwell added. “It’s in our collective interest as a town, as a community, to keep this cost as low as we can while still getting to the result that we want. I’m not opposed to a renovation addition. I’m not looking for a five-star, perfect platinum ivory tower. Not at all. What we have right now, can’t stay as it is. There are too many major systems in Hurley that need repair.”