Brewster To Seek State Help With Elementary Schools To Renovate Or Replace Eddy And Stony Brook

BREWSTER – The select board and school committee jointly agreed on Monday to prepare two statements of interest to submit to the Massachusetts School Building Authority this January.

The statements relate to the potential for a new school that would combine all the town’s kindergarten through grade five students into one building, or replacing (or renovating) the Eddy and Stony Brook elementary schools at an estimated cost of between $55 and $75 million, depending on which building is rebuilt or renovated.

The reasons are twofold. Stony Brook is facing extensive repairs and updates ($22 to $33 million worth) that would require it to be brought up to code, so a large expense is looming regardless. And the timeline for securing a Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) loan that would reduce financing costs and a potential construction grant is lengthy, so any construction would not happen until at least 2033, with costs inflating all that time.

“We have for a long time needed to address the Stony Brook school if nothing else,” Town Manager Peter Lombardi said at the board’s Sept. 28 meeting. “This is now an opportunity to discuss what that might look like.”

Stony Brook, built in the 1970s, lacks air conditioning and has issues with the roof, windows and accessibility code.

Nauset Regional School Superintendent Glenn Brand said the window for applications opens in January. 

“It is an extensive process, five to seven years, before you get in,” Brand said. “It may take multiple times to apply. Time is of the essence if you’re talking about construction costs that are only going up with inflation.” He added whether an application is approved for consideration depends on what other projects are in the mix.

“The MSBA can cover 30 percent of the project cost, which is significant financial support from the state,” Lombardi added.

Orleans and Wellfleet were in similar situations. A study on regionalizing all four Nauset District towns’ elementary school systems was completed in June. In addition, Brewster had a second report on the condition of its two schools prepared and completed by Architects Habeeb and Associates last year. The towns obtained a $150,000 grant for the regionalization study; Brewster added in $100,000 and the other three towns kicked in $50,000 each. The study looked at five options, several of which include a combined Brewster school.

Brewster has informed the other towns of its plans and is staying in touch, Lombardi said.

“The study committee continues to meet,” he said. “It is helpful to keep the channels of communication open. And we’re conveying information to the study committee of where it looks like Brewster is headed. Each town has to make its own decision. Consolidating the two Brewster schools is one of the scenarios and the one we’re pursuing now.”

Habeeb and Associates completed its assessment of the facilities Brewster had in 2025. The study estimated base renovation costs ranging from $15 million to $33 million depending on how much work was done. The regionalization study pegged the total project cost for baseline repairs at $18 million for the Eddy School and $44 million for Stony Brook.

Stony Brook was built in 1975 and renovated in 1987. It houses 220 kindergarten through second grade students. Constructing a new building by 2030 for 300 students would cost $86 million, according to Habeeb, increasing to $116 million for 500 students and $148 million for 700 based on the 2025 cost per square foot and 5 percent inflation. Brewster currently has about 430 students in the two elementary schools, so there would be no need for the larger projects.

The Eddy School has 210 students in grades three through five. It was built in 1996 so it is more up to date and compliant with most codes. However, it also requires upgrades to the HVAC system, plumbing, fire suppression system, lighting and circuits. Doing all the work and adding an addition to the Eddy School to house all students in grades K through five would cost $55 million compared to $75 million to do the same at Stony Brook. 

Going through the Massachusetts School Building Authority process for a construction loan would lead to new construction starting in 2033. A new building could open in 2034.

Enrollments have fallen 12 percent over the last five years across the Nauset District, with projections of the decline continuing, even including planned new housing in the towns. Brewster’s current enrollment is 417 students in the two elementary schools; the projection for 2035 is 377. Districtwide the estimated enrollment for 2035 is 818.

Brand noted that both Brewster schools are currently well under capacity, with Stony Brook at 47 percent and Eddy at 65 percent.

“They’re larger than they need to be. What do we do about that?” he asked. 

The study looked at several reconfigurations for the elementary schools: the current five school with two in Brewster, the two Brewster schools combining, two regional schools through fifth grade in different towns, three regional schools for grades K through five, and finally two regional schools up to second grade and one for grades three through five. It concluded smaller schools cost 20 to 30 percent more per student, underutilized buildings waste resources and larger grade cohorts provide more opportunities.

If Brewster does combine its two schools, that would still fit into the first three regionalization scenarios; the third one would have the combined Brewster school and a regional grades K through five building for the other three towns. 

Both the school committee and select board voted unanimously to draft two statements of interest, one each for the Eddy and Stony Brook schools, to submit to the MSBA. They also voted to include a report on the schools’ status in the warrant for the fall town meeting.

“I see this as a very positive step,” school committee member Steve Leibowitz said. “We don’t have to make a specific decision. Time is moving on this.”