Harwich Balks At Middle School Repair Estimates

 Escalating estimates of the cost of replacing siding at the Monomoy Regional Middle School have Harwich officials considering seeking adjustments to the school district’s financial agreement.

 Currently, the agreement requires that Harwich pay 76 percent of the Monomoy Regional School District budget, including operational and capital costs, while Chatham contributes 24 percent. The funding formula is based on the number of pupils from each town. Harwich officials say the formula is unsustainable and are calling for a meeting among officials from the two communities to discuss possible changes.

“The emphasis for us is, it is not sustainable,” Harwich Select Board member Peter Piekarski said of the agreement, which is due to be renewed in 2027.

The formula applies to the building project as well. Replacing the deteriorating siding, which some believe is responsible for mold problems inside the school (see sidebar), was previously estimated at $6.3 million. Superintendent Scott Carpenter said Tuesday that the building committee formed to oversee the siding and eventually roof replacement at the middle school recently voted to include removing or replacing the windows, which could increase the cost to as much as $12 million.

Carpenter said when the school was previously expanded and renovated in 1997, the windows were improperly flashed. The building committee decided that it didn’t make sense to just replace the trim and siding given the window problem, he said. At the least, windows need to be removed to determine the extent of the damage, but it likely makes more sense to replace them altogether, he said.

“They could go through and re-side the building, and the building would look great, but the flashing would not be fixed,” he said. Replacing the 27-year-old windows with new, more energy efficient ones would “allow the project to be done right,” he added. It would also “add significant cost to the project.”

The administration and building committee are working with the project’s architect and owner’s project manager to refine cost estimates. Updated figures are expected next month, Carpenter said. School officials expect to ask voters in both communities to approve funding for the siding project at May annual town meetings.

Given the increased cost projected, Harwich Select Board Chair Jeffrey Handler recommended Monday that a meeting be scheduled with the Chatham Select Board and the regional school committee to address the funding formula.

“It’s a little late to discuss the agreement as it sits as a whole,” Handler said. “I don’t think that’s a productive use of time right now, but I do think there might be some merit with me reaching out and requesting to amend the formula for that middle school project.”

Select Board member Donald Howell said he was concerned that rising school costs “takes money away from the ability to operate the town.” 

Select Board member Michael MacAskill said the discussion on addressing the school district financial agreement should start right away, but it doesn’t have to go to this year’s town meeting. 

Piekarski said the agreement can be amended by a three-quarters vote of the school board by a petition from 10 percent of registered voters.

“I don’t want to go down that path,” he said. “I’d like to see the school board discuss this issue. It’s truly in the best interest of the school and most importantly the students who attend this school.” 

 “I’d like to see the middle school building committee report and what numbers they are talking about,” said Select Board member Julie Kavanagh.

“I don’t feel we should move forward with the [district’s] capital plan unless we get some relief. The capital and operating school budget is out of hand,” said Martha Donovan, chair of the town’s capital outlay committee.

“We should put our foot down and get a better deal or say no more. It’s getting too much in my opinion,” she said. “[Town Administrator Joseph Powers] feels the town is in good shape, but I don’t know if the taxpayers are feeling that way.”  

There are other issues to consider, Carpenter said at Monday’s Harwich Select Board meeting. 

“If the project gets big enough, other things get triggered, new codes and width of walls,” he said. “We have to satisfy a building inspector in Chatham and all the state codes.” 

Carpenter estimated work on the middle school would not likely start until late summer or into the fall if the funding is approved in May.

“It’s a mutual problem for both towns,” noted Handler. “We need to have this conversation.”