At this year’s Town Meeting, voters will be asked to choose between the two options. In a straw poll last year, voters in the two towns were split, with Wilmington voters supporting a renovation option at the current high school. Whitingham voters supported a middle/high school at the Whitingham School site, although almost as many Whitingham voters supported a renovation of the Wilmington building.
Twin Valley School Facilities Committee Chair Phil Taylor noted that the previous Whitingham consolidation proposal carried much higher costs than the other options – as high as $21 million, prompting the committee to explore the current consolidation option, which carries a significantly lower price tag.
Renovation
The latest renovation option is similar to previous proposals, but Taylor says it has been trimmed down through a “value engineering” process with a design/build firm. Under the option, the wooden section of the high school, built in 1899, would be demolished, along with a portion of the building added in a now-infamous 1980 renovation. A new two-story addition would be built in place of the library, which would house administrative offices on the ground floor, along with a new media center, and several regular and specialized classrooms on both floors. Some existing spaces, such as the current administrative office area, would be reconfigured.
“The design philosophy was to make the most efficient use of space in the building as possible,” Taylor said.
The current renovation proposal is 4,000 square feet smaller than the previous proposal, and 2,000 square feet smaller than the current configuration. But Taylor said the space is adequate for the number of students projected in the two towns over the next 10 to 15 years. “There are no ‘if you build it they will come’ expectations in this design,” he said. “This is based on the mean enrollment projections for Whitingham and Wilmington. If, for some reason, there’s a big influx, we wouldn’t have the space.”
The estimated price, at $6.5 million, is about $3 million less than even the least expensive of previous proposals. But Taylor said the cost savings were not achieved by cutting corners, they were achieved by focusing on flexible use of space. Previous designs, he said, included excess square footage.
“The cost, at $200 per square foot, is a safe place to be,” he said, “That’s about on par for this kind of construction.”
But, although the renovation option has the lowest budget, it would likely cost local taxpayers the most. Because the option doesn’t eliminate a building, the towns wouldn’t be eligible for state school capital construction aid.
The initial cost would be split between the two towns by student population, with about 60% belonging to Wilmington and 40% to Whitingham. Whitingham taxpayers would also be able to take advantage of the $2 million facility credit negotiated under the Twin Valley contract, which would be added to Wilmington’s tab. Using the preliminary estimates, Wilmington would be responsible for about $5.9 million of loan principal, and Whitingham would pay about $600,000. Interest on the bond is estimated at 4.03%.
In Wilmington, the bond would add about 17.1 cents to the tax rate during the first year, or $171 per $100,000 of homestead value. The rate would drop by about one penny per year over the following decade, and continue to drop at a lower rate thereafter.
In Whitingham, the rate would start low, at 5.2 cents, or $52 per $100,000 of homestead value. But when the $2 million credit is exhausted after year 15 of the bond, Whitingham’s rate would shoot up to 11 cents.
Consolidation
At a total of $8.5 million, the consolidation option has the higher cost, but it would cost taxpayers in both towns substantially less than the renovation option, thanks to savings achieved through consolidation and state construction aid.
Under the consolidation option, the two towns would combine their elementary grades at Deerfield Valley Elementary School. The plan also calls for both towns to maintain their own pre-school and kindergarten classrooms. The Whitingham School would become a middle/high school, serving students in grades six through 12.
Both buildings would need some renovation and new construction. The largest project would be at the Whitingham facility, where a new gymnasium and a new administrative area would be constructed. Under the preliminary design, the current gymnasium and locker rooms would become new classroom areas, including specialized classrooms such as a music room. The new, larger, tournament-size gymnasium would be located adjacent to the current gym. The administrative office area would be added onto the front of the building. The cost of construction at the middle/high school would be about $4.8 million.
At DVES, the construction of a new addition would add four classrooms to the school. The current classrooms would be renovated to eliminate the original open classroom design – a move Taylor noted would gain a few square feet in the classrooms. Because of scheduling constraints, the gymnasium wouldn’t be able to double as the cafeteria at the combined school, and a new kitchen and cafeteria would also be built. The cost of work at the combined elementary school would be about $2.4 million. The current high school facility would be eliminated. Board members say their conservative estimate of savings that would be achieved from consolidation, through a reduction in staff, administration, and maintenance costs, would be about $400,000 per year.
Because the consolidation would eliminate a building, the project would be eligible for the state construction aid of 50% of approved costs, which Taylor said would likely be 30% to 40% of the actual costs. With the cost savings and state aid, a bond for the consolidation option is projected to add just 2.3 cents to Wilmington’s tax rate. But for Wilmington residents, the cost of maintaining the former high school until its final disposition could make the overall cost of consolidation higher.
For Whitingham residents, the consolidation option is projected to add about 3.4 cents to the tax rate, higher than Wilmington’s rate, but Whitingham would bear no liability for the former high school.
For some Wilmington residents at Wednesday evening’s meeting, the unknown consequences of eliminating the current high school was a concern. Wilmington Town Clerk and selectboard member Susan Haughwout said closing the school would “gut the village.”
“I think the village is having a hard time already,” she said. “Having another abandoned building is a concern, and I don’t know that Wilmington taxpayers would see a benefit.”
Although there weren’t any specific estimates for what it might cost Wilmington to maintain the building, Twin Valley School Board Chair Ed Metcalfe pointed out that the current cost of the facility is about $277,000 per year. “That’s keeping it fully occupied, with two and a half janitors, heat, electricity, water, and sewer,” he said. “But we don’t know what the cost would be to Wilmington, and that would be their decision.”
Wilmington resident Cliff Duncan asked how the change in location of the high school from Wilmington to Whitingham might affect tuition students from Dover. “It might be an impediment to kids from Dover,” he said. “If they have to travel another six miles it might just push them to go down Route 30.”
Metcalfe said the board had considered the same concern, but that in informal discussions with Dover parents, the additional distance wasn’t likely to have an impact. “Our competition isn’t Leland & Gray,” Metcalfe said. “I think they only have one student going to Leland & Gray. Our competition is Brattleboro, and they have more choices. But I’m hearing that the facility is an issue, and we might get back one or two Dover students who are at BUHS but would rather be in a small school.”
Noting he is a retired school teacher, Wilmington resident Arthur Bailey said the towns shouldn’t choose either of the options, or any other option. “We should be thankful for what we have, and keep the buildings in reasonable repair,” he said. “Give taxpayers a break.”
Board member Jack Kincella said the board wasn’t prepared to follow a “no option,” and that, after Town Meeting, they would proceed with one of the options to bring to an eventual vote.
Bailey also asked who would own the buildings, if the two towns decide to invest in either of the options. Metcalfe said that, if the consolidation option is chosen, it’s likely the board would propose a unified union school district, and the buildings would belong to the school district. If the renovation option was chosen, the towns could also create a unified union district, or they could continue their current arrangement.
Wilmington resident Karen Grinold asked if the input of teachers had been sought, and what their concerns may be. Metcalfe said teachers were concerned about the prospect of personnel cuts. “When you have a class size of 33 kids, do you need two teachers, or three teachers?” Metcalfe asked rhetorically. “You’re going to lose an elementary teacher, and there’s no way you can put a nice face on that.”
But Wilmington board member Doug Swanson said he met with teachers, and one of the things they were excited about was the prospect of team teaching. “Having two teachers per grade gives you the opportunity for team teaching,” he said. “And when you have a wide spectrum of (student) ability, that spectrum becomes smaller when you can split students into different classrooms.”
A second informational session will be held at Twin Valley Middle School in Whitingham at 7 pm on Tuesday, February 23.
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