The Center Elementary School is set to close for the entirety of the 2024-25 school year, forcing difficult choices for families who are facing a monumental decision about where to send their children to school.
The Center had previously been a part of the district’s statement of interest for the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA) Core program, a competitive grant program where municipalities can get a portion of construction costs reimbursed, but was ultimately excluded from the district’s most recent statement after the MSBA indicated it would only accept one school per district. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala said the heating, electrical, and plumbing systems in the 70-plus-year-old school are “beginning to fail,” and as a result, extensive repairs are necessary.
“Realistically, a new Center school will not be available for MSBA reimbursement for approximately 10 years. As a result, we have decided to make the necessary improvements that will help the Center School stay online for the next decade,” he said. “That means that we will need to take the Center offline during the 2024-25 school year to do these renovations. We are working with families to make sure that the transition for students and families goes smoothly as possible.”
Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt, Jr., who chairs the School Committee, said during a meeting late last month that he was still collecting estimates and quotes to determine the final price tag of the work to be done at the Center, but said he would seek support from the City Council this spring. Should he receive that support, work on the school would begin as soon as this summer. That work would entail “specific cleaning,” and Bettencourt specifically pointed to asbestos.
Bettencourt was noncommittal about what solutions the district would put forward for families, suggesting that an alternate site for the Center could be identified before it is taken offline.
“I don’t want to give false hope but we are looking at every option,” he said. “We can do this, but there are going to be some bumps in the road.”
Closing the school for a year and forcing students out represents a different approach than the one taken by the city with the redevelopment of the Welch School. While that school was admitted into the MSBA’s core program, officials opted to take a phased approach to construction that enabled students to remain in the building while work was ongoing, albeit with older students having to exit.
School Committee member Beverley Griffin Dunne, who chairs the Welch School Building Committee, said she could see the pros and cons of both approaches, noting that many contractors opted not to bid on the Welch project because of the complexity of the phased process.
But, she said, moving the students out of the building is a drastic step and the impact on families will be severe.
“Figuring out where best to send kids has been difficult,” Dunne said. “I feel very bad for them.”
Initially, officials sought to keep grades together but Dunne said Monday evening that that approach was “not going to work.”
While there are no safety risks posed by the current state of the Center, Dunne acknowledged that the needs are extensive.
Bettencourt did not respond to a request for comment sent early Monday afternoon.
