AMHERST — Calling the project transformative and an investment in the town’s children, the Amherst School Committee unanimously endorsed an education program last week for a new 105,000-square-foot elementary school, providing a roadmap for how to design the space in the new building.
“I am inspired and enthusiastic to support this education plan,” Chairwoman Allison McDonald said.
With significant feedback from the community about the size of the proposed building, including both those who believe it will be too big and others who believe it will be too small, the committee’s 5-0 vote on March 8 allows Donna DiNisco of DiNisco Design to submit a preliminary design program to the Massachusetts School Building Authority next Tuesday.
“It’s an incredibly exciting milestone for our community,” McDonald said.
A space summary derived from the education program shows a 105,750-square-foott building, with 30 classrooms totaling 36,650 square feet of space, and 12,950 square feet for special education learning. Project workspace will be provided near all classrooms. The building would have room for 575 students from kindergarten through fifth grade.
Initial estimates show the project could cost around $100 million. The new building would replace both Wildwood and Fort River elementary schools, though several unanswered questions remain. Among those are the new school’s location, either at the Fort River or Wildwood site; whether it will be all new construction or a renovation and addition; and whether it will be a two- or three-story building.
The town’s third elementary school, Crocker Farm, would continue with K-5 grade levels, as well as an early childhood program. Sixth graders at the existing three elementary schools are to move to the middle school in the fall of 2023.
Committee member Peter Demling said the project is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a transformative investment, and that the new space will be an innovative and progressive learning environment for students of all needs.
But it could cost significantly more than the $66.37 million dual school project that failed five years ago when it was unable to clear the two-thirds vote necessary at Town Meeting. Still, Demling said officials shouldn’t try to scale back the size of this project on the backs of students.
“Our children should not pay the price for our decision to accommodate this cost,” Demling said.
Committee member Irv Rhodes, a longtime educator, said the plans will provide space rich with educational opportunities and an atmosphere for children to thrive.
If the town fails to provide enough space, committee member Ben Herrington said, he worries that future school leaders would be critical of the decisions made now.
“Our kids deserve better, our grandkids deserve better, our town deserves better,” Herrington said.
Though she voted in favor of the plan and said she will vote for the project when it comes to residents for a Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion override vote next year, Jennifer Shiao was the lone committee member to question if the envisioned building is bigger than it needs to be.
Shiao said the committee needs to be responsible to taxpayers and provide a right-size building.
Though the new building would be smaller than the combined 164,000 square feet at Wildwood and Fort River, Shiao noted it will serve only about three-quarters of the 700 students in those buildings.
In oral feedback, diverse viewpoints were expressed. Maria Kopicki, who helped coordinate a Save Our Small Schools initiative during the last school project debate, said that modest reductions in the size of the project could be made, and the administration could seek flexibility at Crocker Farm should the new building be insufficient.
Kopicki’s calculations show that in the consolidated school there would be 184 square feet of space per student, while Crocker Farm has just 163 square feet per student.
But parent Angelica Bernal told the committee that any reductions would compromise the ability to deliver special needs education, and that it’s “incredibly disheartening” to suggest them. In a letter Bernal sent, she made that point clear:
“The new elementary school building is an opportunity for us to build towards a better future for our children,” Bernal wrote. “All our children.”
