Wildwood Project Expands: Town Wants To Study Replacing 6 Elementary Schools With 1 Giant School, Otherwise Westside Will Lag Behind Northside

WILMINGTON, MA — The Wildwood School Building project has become a full-blown elementary school project, likely to consolidate two, three or even all six of the district’s elementary schools.

Last week, the Town of Wilmington held an unconventional joint meeting of the Select Board, School Committee, Finance Committee, and Wildwood School Building Committee to discuss whether to alter its proposal to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and study additional enrollment options. These two new options are (1) a district-wide PreK-4 school, which would likely necessitate the 5th grade moving to the Middle School and the 8th grade moving to the High School, and (2) a district-wide PreK-5 school.

The two-hour, 15-minute meeting (available via Wilmington Community Television HERE) featured introductory remarks from Superintendent Dr. Glenn Brand; a presentation from Project Manager Ronnie Phillip of architect Dore & Whittier and Director of OPM Services Julie Leduc of SMMA; lively questions and comments from members of all four boards and committees; and an informal straw vote at the end.

The non-binding show of hands indicated overwhelming support amongst those in the room for adding the two new enrollment options. A majority of the Select Board, however, did not raise their hands. That does not necessarily mean they oppose the the measure as several indicated they wanted additional time to process the information. Also, of note, the Finance Committee did not have a quorum of its members present, and it, too, reportedly did not reach a majority consensus during the hand raising.

Ultimately, it was decided each of the four committees would vote separately, instead of holding another joint meeting later in June. The Select Board (June 12), the School Committee (June 14), the Finance Committee (mid-June, date TBA), and Building Committee (June 21) will all take independent votes. While the letter to request the enrollment changes just needs the signatures of the Town Manager, School Superintendent and School Committee Chair, Town Manager Jeff Hull made it clear he wants all four committees to support the proposed changes before the letter is submitted. MSBA must receive the letter no later than  June 27.

The Elephant In The Room Is Now Being Openly Talked About: Northside vs. Westside Concerns

Under the town’s current submission to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), only the northside of town would see a school building project. The MSBA is the only entity that financially assists school districts in building (or renovating/expanding) schools, often with a 20%-40% reimbursement rate, based on a formula with lots of factors.

Complicating matters, however, MSBA will only fund one school building project at a time. Also, because the Wildwood Early Childhood Center has been deemed the priority school, that student population must be taken care of in whatever school building project emerges. As a result, as things stand today, the families on the west-side of town looking for a new school would be out-of-luck.

The current submission would study the following enrollment figures:

• PreK-K (north-side only)
• PreK-3 (north-side only)
• PreK-4 (north-side only)
• PreK-5 (north-side only)

The proposed submission would add 2 new options and eliminate an existing option:

• PreK-K (north-side only)
• PreK-4 (north-side only)
• PreK-5 (north-side only)
• PreK-4 (combined north-side & west-side)
• PreK-5 (combined north-side & west-side)

The MSBA requires both new construction and renovation/additions be studied for each option.

“If we go forward right now, we would end up with a new school on the north side of town. That would leave us with the need for a ‘mirror’ or ‘sister’ school on the west side of town,” said Superintendent Brand in response to a question from School Committee member Michael Mercaldi. “Our community can only be in one MSBA project a time. It’s coming to be 5-6 years for this project, some think potentially 7 years. After which time, we’d apply and hope to get into the MSBA program again. At best, it’s conceivable, we could be talking about 13, 14 or 15 years until a project could be completed on the west-side of town. That’s a long time in my opinion.”

“A small minority of communities get in [to the MSBA grant program],” added Town Manager Hull. “The town could opt to go it alone for a [new west-side] school. The challenge would be taking on the full cost, in addition to the borrowing costs we’re incurring for the [new north-side] school. Doing a second school within 5-10 years of the first would require a debt exclusion and then the question becomes do residents have the ability to pay.”

School Committee member Jennifer Bryson stressed that the various boards weren’t being asked to select either of the PreK-4 or PreK-5 district-wide enrollment options as their preferred options. The boards were only being asked to allow them to be studied. She also had the west-side on her mind during her comments, noting that adding the two enrollment options “is worth it when you tell me it’s going to take another 15-20 years to address things on the west-side of town… A building that could fit both sides, district-wide, would be a dream.”

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It’s an analysis. It’s a study. It’s not a commitment,” agreed Superintendent Brand. “This is a recommendation to broaden the consideration and explore what might be possible to try to reduce our time of completion and improve the teaching and learning environment of all elementary schools across the district, I think it’s something worth considering as a community.”

Town Manager Jeff Hull also went on the record with his support for asking MSBA to allow Wilmington to consider the two additional enrollment options.

“This is an opportunity to take a look at options we haven’t focused on previously. One of my expectations is there will likely be a question asked as to whether the town looked at using existing available space in the Middle School and High School,” said Hull. “From my perspective, I’d like to have the answer to that question and be able to respond that we did evaluate those options… For me, that’s one of the reasons I believe serious consideration should be given to adding those options to the mix.”

Bryson did point out the one drawback to adding any new enrollment options to the mix is that the MSBA would move Wilmington’s submission back a phase — a potential delay of six months — while it considered its new proposal. Worst case, MSBA would reject any enrollment option changes and Wilmington would be able to proceed with its original four options. Wilmington would be not at risk of being removed from the grant program.

School Committee Chair David Ragsdale stated he is not necessarily a fan of the new enrollment options, as he generally dislikes moving the 5th grade to the Middle School and the 8th grade to the High School. But he supports adding the options to the mix.

“The primary benefit of this idea is that it presents us with more options. It gives us more flexibility. I kind of hate the idea that it would delay the process. I want the school yesterday. But we have to look at the long-term here. For the amount of time kids will be in these buildings, a 6-8 month display is not very much,” said Ragsdale. “Most important is the flexibility it gives us to not necessarily focus exclusively on the northside of town, which right now we’re limited to… This would allow us to address both sides of town in some regards. This gives us additional options and more flexibility, which seems like a wise thing to have.”

Finance Committee member Brad Jackson offered a unique perspective.

“We have schools that were all essentially built in the 1960s. They are coming down the pike whether we like it or not. To study this is a no-brainer,” said Finance Committee member Brad Jackson, who was a Superintendent of Schools for 18 years and previously worked as Director of Administration & Finance for Wilmington Public Schools. “This could yield a more expensive solution in the short-run, that may or may not be politically viable in this community, but that’s the information everyone in this room needs to make an intelligent, well-informed decision. I applaud [the project team] for having the courage to put the breaks on and say wait a minute, there are other options that may be better.”

Wildwood Principal Kate Bissell, meanwhile, tried to re-focus the group and bottom-line the decision under consideration, after the conversation would often drift to tangential topics or questions for future phases of the project.

“Any project at all must include the Wildwood school within the scope. There’s no possibility to go back – without starching from scratch – to just focus on west-side. It’s either north-side or district-wide. Today, we’re contemplating whether to stick with north-side only, or broadening the scope to district-wide. North-only or district wide, those are our two choices,” said Bissell.

Selectwoman Lil Maselli did not like the talk about “north-side” vs. “west-side.”

“I think we need to stop saying ‘west-side’ and ‘north-side,’ because that’s pitting one side of town again the other, and that’s not fair. Where we are today is because of the situation with the Wildwood.,, It’s very unfair and sending a very bad message to the residents of this town that we don’t care about one side as much as the other side. I would prefer we talk about this as the Wildwood project, and the schools as whole, but to say this only happens on the north-side, and the west-side doesn’t get it, that’s unfair to this town to do that,” Maselli began.

“The MSBA only gives you one project to build,” responded Don Walter, Principal of Dore & Whittier Architects. “They only accept one school building into the program. With that one school building, they were allowing different grade configurations. Since Wildwood is part of the Wildwood, Woburn Street, and North side, those were the original grade configurations that could be studied.”

“We’re going to be hearing about it. You’re pitting one side of town against the other. It makes it look like everyone in this room who votes a certain way doesn’t care about one or the other. This is getting taken off the rails. This is the Wildwood MSBA project. We need to stop saying the west-side gets nothing, and this only happens on the north-side. There’s going to be fallout from it. I’m just letting you know,” responded Maselli.

“Which is quite frankly, why we all discussed this idea [to expand the enrollment options to encompass district-wide options],” retorted Walter.

“You’re trying to pit people against each other,” interrupted Maselli.

“I don’t know why you’re saying that. This is why we’re having this discussion and have brought it to the group to expand the study,” said Walter.

Select Board Seemingly Lukewarm To Idea Of Expanding Enrollment Options To Consider A District-Wide PreK-5 Elementary School 

No Select Board member spoke in favor of expanding the enrollment options during the meeting. Selectman Kevin Caira expressed his opposition, as did Selectwoman Lil Maselli, although she would later say she needed additional time to consider her final vote. Selectman Gary DePalma and Selectman Greg Bendel voted “yes” in the straw poll, but both expressed some form of concern in their remarks. Selectman Frank West did not raise his hand during the straw vote, but did seem to indicate he would likely back the two new enrollment options if it had the support of the other committees. He, too, expressed trepidation about the vote.

Selectman Kevin Caira did not mince words, noting he “wouldn’t mind looking for a new OPM and architect” for the project. He called a PreK-4 or PreK-5 district-wide school a “non-starter,” and something, he said, that was a settled issue from many years ago. Caira said he was a fan of the “neighborhood concept of schools” and asked if turning the Shawsheen, West, Woburn Street, and North into four PreK-5 schools could be explored. The team reminded him that the MSBA would only fund one school building project at a time. Caira also disagreed that both sides of town needed to be mirrors of each other, and called the current schools in “great shape.”

“What you have to do for the north-side, you have to do for the west-side? I don’t really understand that concept,” said Caira. “I look at the new options. I think the only time the west-side comes into play is when we go with this one big huge district school, and do away with the neighborhood school concept.” Something Caira stressed he does not favor.

Selectwoman Lil Maseli focused her initial remarks on Wilmington’s declining student enrollment figures, which is what’s driving the PreK-4 or PreK-5 district-wide options to even be considered. She noted that Wildwood parents may continue to seek other educational options for their children until a new school is built, and that some parents pulled their children during COVID to put them in schools that transitioned back to in-person learning quicker than Wilmington. Some of those kids have not yet, and may never, return to the school system. The key culprit behind Wilmington’s plunging enrollment, however, is the middle school, according to Maselli.

“Sorry to say, but the Middle School is a big problem that drives people out of the district. I don’t know how to say it nicely, it’s s a mess. There hasn’t been consistent leadership there. It’s a huge reason why the high school enrollment is down,” she said. “The inmates are running the asylum. If you making changes there, you will see the enrollment go up and people staying in district.”

Maselli also pointed to Wilmington’s booming real estate market and housing projects, concerned that enrollment numbers would rebound, before noting her preference would be to leave Wilmington’s MSBA enrollment figures as is, and not add the district-wide PreK-4 and PreK-5 options.

Selectman Greg Bendel expressed displeasure on procedural grounds. He wondered if a change of this magnitude was outside the scope of the Town Meeting Warrant article that approved the feasibility study for the project, and whether a new Special Town Meeting was necessary. Hull said he would look into the matter further, but he was confident a new meeting wouldn’t be required.

“Thanks for calling this urgent meeting three weeks ago,” quipped Bendel, pointing out the Select Board and School Committee both recently had meetings and this matter wasn’t placed on the agenda. “I’m surprised we’re getting the information on the same day we’re expected to vote.” He felt the meeting was arranged to pressure members into voting.

Hull said there wasn’t necessarily an expectation for a vote tonight. He indicated a vote would only take place if all members were comfortable. A potential second joint meeting was in the works for June 21. Brand noted that — rather than make separate presentations to the four boards — he felt it best to disseminate the information at the same time.

Selectmen DePalma and Caira concurred with Bendel’s take.

“This presentation should have been sent to us all ahead of time, so we could review as you were presented. A lot of this material is new. How can we vote on anything you presented tonight? There’s not enough information or time to digest. This information should have come out prior to the meeting,” said DePalma. “I’d recommend to my board that we don’t take a vote because we don’t have enough information.” DePalma would later endorsed the idea of straw vote as long individuals were voting informally as audience members, not as board members.

When Selectman Caira asked Superintendent Brand why the four committees couldn’t have been given separate presentations, which had happened in the past, School Committee member MJ Byrnes interrupted from across the room and suggested Caira take his concerns “offline.”

Selectman Gary DePalma sent some mixed signals during his string of comments.

DePalma asked about whether additions would be considered to some of the schools. Lee Dorr, Principal of Dore & Whittier, stated it was requirement under the MSBA process to consider both new construction and renovation/addition.

DePalma said he was “old school” and liked PreK-5, 6-8 and 9-12 configurations. He then noted people would be real upset if what happened on the north side isn’t implemented on the west side.

“Whatever project comes forward will hopefully include as much consolidation as possible,” responded Superintendent Brand, citing the town’s recent 2018 Facilities Master Plan and the educational, financial and operational gains realized by minimizing the number of schools. “What can be replicated on the other side of town will be hindered by time. If we just constrain this study and the work to the one side of town, the other side of town is going to have to wait, especially if MSBA is the only wait to get to another project.”

DePalma also seemed to question if MSBA involvement was necessary, but then said he’d welcome it. He noted he heard from someone that some recent school projects have only been getting 20% reimbursement rates.

“20% of your project’s cost is better than 0%,” responded OPM Julie Leduc.

“Not for waiting 8 years it’s not. If you have a school that’s falling apart, then the construction of it and everything, the 20% – yes – is a lot of money, but if you cost that out over an extended period of time, you might find it will be wiser for you — because of increases in materials, labor, property, whatever — it might not be the golden apple that you’re looking for,” said DePalma. “I’m not discouraging us not to, but I’m tired of hearing people say that are throwing out reimbursement numbers of 40%. This, that and the other thing. We don’t really know yet. We know this is a very expensive ordeal, and I’ll take every penny I can get, don’t get me wrong, and let’s be very realistic about it. Let’s hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”

OPM Julie Leduc noted a current project she’s working on — Stoneham High School — is receiving a 38% reimbursement rate. While Leduc was hesitant to give a number for Wilmington’s project — since the formula is based on square footage, enrollment and other factors not yet determined — she agreed the average is between 30% and 40%.

Selectman Frank West, meanwhile, expressed concerns about costs to the taxpayers.

“I’m just seeing a lot of money,” said West, citing the Town Hall/School Administration Building project, Senior Center Building project, and the purchasing of Sciarappa Farm to build a fire substation. “Now you want to go back to the residents over and above the Wildwood. You want us to say ‘Hey guys, I know we told you it was only the Wildwood, but now we have a balloon.'”

“I’m a numbers guy. Who doesn’t want to build schools and help our kids? But then when you say it might be $150-$200 million? I don’t know the figure. I’m guessing,” added West.

When reminded the cost estimates would come later in the process, West suggested that cost is still a factor for him, even in this early stage, likening it to going car shopping and planning to make an informed choice.

“10 years ago, we were told the high school was at capacity. Suddenly, it’s not. We can possibly fit another grade here. I’m not sure I’m seeing foresight here,” said West, who also expressed concern about potentially having what is now 6 schools’ worth of pick-up, drop-off and bus traffic concentrated in one location.

When School Committee member MJ Byrnes asked where such a large school could be placed, one of the architects explained that very question about site location would be explored and answered only if the two new enrollment options are approved.

“We’re looking for the opportunity to get those answers. If we don’t get that chance, we’re going to be stuck with the three options we’ve already signed up, for which is PreK-K, PreK-3, and PreK-5, just on the north-side of town,” he stressed.

Brand concluded the meeting with a warning about any north-side vs. west-side hostility, stressing there needs to be an overall plan to address the future of both sides of town.

“As we make our way through our final decision, whether this school is for just one side of town or not, it will be really important for our community to recognize that we have to be coming to terms with an overall plan for our schools in the future. We must somehow come together to convey what that plan looks like,” said Brand. “In the absence of that, I fully recognize that one side of town might feel slighted if a building project is not coming their way… The worst thing from this would be a contingent of our community feeling slighted or not taken care of.”

Presentation Highlights From The Project Team

Superintendent Brand started the meeting with a summary of the actions taken to date on the school building project.

“The town submitted statements of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority in the Spring of 2020, just as the pandemic arrived,” began Brand. “We expressed an interest in partnering with the MSBA on a potential building project. As a result of the overall needs of each and every one of our six elementary schools in the district (PreK-5), and as a result of the findings of the recommendations of the 2018 Facilities Master Plan, we submitted six statements of interest for all 6 elementary schools, with the support of the Select Board and School Committee at the time.”

“This clearly conveyed to the MSBA our interest, as a community, of exploring possible school consolidation. We also had to indicate to the MSBA which possibilities of consolidations we were considering and most interested in exploring and studying. Because of this, we only focused on the PreK-5 level,” continued Brand. “Over the course of the last few months, the town has secured the services of our OPM and designer. Our working group [Brand, Hull, Hooper, Ruggiero, OPM, designer] have been meeting regularly to prepare for the ramp up of the next phase of the project with the MSBA.”

“Recently, what has become a more central point of our deliberations and discussions is the consideration of what has changed for our community since our original submission of our plan to MSBA 4 years ago,” explained Brand. “As a working group, we collectively came to the realization that before proceeding, we believe we need to exercise due diligence and explore whether or not they could be or should be an effort by our community to reach back out to the MSBA to modify our original proposal.”

Brand highlighted two key changes:

The school district’s student population at time of statement of interest (2019-2020 school year) was 3,166 students. This year’s population is 2,796 — a decline of 380 students.

Dore and Whittier determined the actual capacities of each school, and really shined a light on the amount of under-utilized space at both the Middle School and High School.

“These two factors combined aligned with what I know is to be of interest to some in the community, which is exploring whether or not we could or should integrate the 8th grade into the high school,” said Brand.

Brand admitted his team has yet to determine if (a) the 8th grade could physically fit in the high school; (b) both the 8th grade and high school programs could operate in the same building from an educational perspective; and (c) whether the community at large would support such a change.

“Those communities that that transition to a structure that include the 8th grade at the high school have done so when they construct and plan a facility that can appropriately support and accommodate students in Grades 8-12,” noted Brand, citing neighboring Billerica. Wilmington did not do so when planning the new high school.

Ronnie Phillip, from Dore and Whittier, also briefly discussed the MSBA grant process, which consists of 8 modules. Each module serves a checkpoint with the MSBA before districts can proceed to the next phase. Wilmington is currently in Module 3 (feasibility study), but would temporarily move back into Module 2 (eligibility period) for six months if additional enrollment configurations are proposed. The entire process will take approximately 7 years until the school’s doors are opened.

Phillip noted that Dore and Whittier has discovered a “mismatch between the capacities of the district’s facilities and their projected enrollments,” adding “there appears to be enough capacity in the district, but it’s in all the wrong places.” In other words, the need for more space is at the elementary levels, but the actual excess space is at the upper levels.

“As multiple needs exist across the district, the most likely path to community support is developing a well-thought out plan,” said Phillip. “The district’s current grade configuration causes students to transition through three buildings during their elementary years, and makes enrollment fluctuations difficult to manage.”

“While a single project in Wilmington isn’t likely to resolve everything all at once, it’s one piece of data that suggests this project should be considered through the lens of the entire district, rather than the simple replacement of a single early childhood center,” she added. “It could be the key to right-sizing the project, to manage the affordability of the project to the community, and selecting the best grade configuration.”