Higher Cost Estimates, Minor Tweaks in Revised School Facilities Plan

The school district's Central Office is now proposing $66.9 million worth of construction work on the town's public schools over the next four fiscal years - compared to $49.4 million in a report released last month - but that's mostly due to higher cost estimates.

Most of the projects and cost estimates in the revised report, released Friday by school officials, are identical to projects and cost estimates in the earlier report. Changes are:

* $9.1 million, instead of $6.2 million, for a classroom addition, renovations, upgrades to core facilities and a major roof warranty extension at Riverfield School in fiscal year 2011-12, which begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2012. The earlier report identified the addition as having six classrooms, while the revised report doesn't specify a number of classrooms;

* $6.2 million for a classroom addition, renovations, upgrades to core facilities and minor roof replacements at Osborn Hill School in fiscal year 2012-13. The earlier report called only for minor roof replacements and upgrades to core facilities for a cost of $2.85 million;

* $9.5 million for a classroom addition, renovations and upgrades to core facilities at Holland Hill School in 2013-14. The earlier report called for a four-classroom addition, renovations and upgrades to core facilities at a cost of $5.8 million;

* $7.5 million for a classroom addition, renovations, upgrades to core facilities and Americans With Disability Act work at Dwight School in 2014-15. The earlier report called for $4.1 million for upgrades to core facilities and ADA work;

* $12 million for an addition, renovations, upgrades to core facilities and minor roof replacement at Mill Hill School in 2014-15. The earlier report identified the cost estimate at $7.7 million.

Thomas Cullen, the school district's director of operations, wasn't immediately available Friday afternoon to say whether the classroom addition proposed at Osborn Hill School was incorrectly included on the list. The town in late 2009 installed a classroom annex at Osborn Hill School to alleviate overcrowding in the school, and Osborn Hill's enrollment, now 538 students, is projected to peak over the next 10 years at 586 students in the 2017-18 school year, according to a report released in December by MGT of America, Inc. in Olympia, Wash.

The higher cost estimates on construction work come after James Millington, Republican majority leader on the Representative Town Meeting, and Democratic Selectman Sherri Steeneck criticized school officials for inaccurate cost estimates in the past.

The $66.9 million cost estimate doesn't include state reimbursements. When those reimbursements are factored in, the cost estimate drops to $52 million. The earlier report, after state reimbursements were factored in, had a total estimated cost of $38.2 million.

The Board of Education's meeting on Tuesday is at 7:30 p.m. in the Education Center, 501 Kings Highway East.