Construction Costs Expected to be Released at Tuesday School Board Meeting

On Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 7PM at the Community Development Department, the School Board will hear updates on two renovation/addition plans for Golden Brook School and Windham Middle School.  It is expected that prelimary cost estimates will also be given of two separate options, both of which include a menu of “add alternates.  “Add alternates” will be priced out separately, and pending the Boards decision may be included as part of the final proposal or may be presented as separate warrant articles, allowing voters to choose from a “menu” of options.  

​For Golden Brook School, the “add alternates” include:

• Gym addition of 2000 sf with retractable bleachers for 500 students plus a platform/ stage.  (This would bring the gym addition up to the Department of Education recommended size for a school of 1,000 students.)​​

• Full Service Kitchen with a 2000 sf incremental increase to the existing warming kitchen. (This would allow hot lunch to be prepared on-site instead of brought in from the high school.)​​
• All Day Kindergarten addition of 3 classrooms which total and estimated 4,815 sf. (Currently the District only offers full day kindergarten to students who are recommended for extended services.  This would allow the District to offer full day kindergarten to some or all students who do not qualify for services and/or comply with any state mandates requiring full day kindergarten.)
• A/C throughout the entire building.  (Currently Golden Brook School has individual cooling units in each room which have led to concerns about air quality.   The Board has delayed approving a solution to the air quality issue pending the March vote.)

The “add alternate” for Windham Middle School include:

• Provide a Technical Education, Family Consumer Science and Stem or Steam Lab as an addition to the building. Additional space in the addition for the IT office/ storage has been provided on the first floor. (Tech Ed and Consumer Science are typically offered at the Middle School level but are not offered at WMS. Stem/Steam is a program that can be taught anywhere; our understanding is that this would provide a compatible classroom space for the Stem/Steam curriculum.)

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Windham LINK encourages the public to attend the meeting Tuesday night.  If you feel any of the above “add alternates” should be part of the final plan or presented as separate Warrant Articles, it is important to let the School Board know your thoughts now.   Thank you again for your time!