The biggest part is our buildings are in bad shape.”

School Committee Chairwoman Gina Bae

It’s the social glue of the entire Sowams neighborhood.”

Robert Swarts, about Sowams School

The lawn signs lining roadsides all over the Hampden Meadows section of town plead with school officials to “Save Sowams School.”

The parents have formed groups and started attending school committee meetings. Last week, more than 150 residents signed a letter calling for the school committee to reconsider its decision to overhaul the neighborhood elementary school model Barrington has used for decades. 

Barrington School Committee Chairwoman Gina Bae is sympathetic to those upset by the decision, but said the district must serve a higher purpose — investing in the long-term health of the schools. 

“I certainly understand their concerns, the feeling of loss,” Bae said during an interview on Friday. 

But that did not sway her from “Option 2B,” which calls for the construction of two new Grade 1-5 schools (one at the Primrose Hill School site and another at the Hampden Meadows School site), a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten center at Nayatt School, and the closure of Sowams School. The dismantling of the small Nayatt and Sowams neighborhood schools is at the heart of resident unrest.

Bae said the district needs to address the condition of the elementary schools in town.  “It’s really about looking out for the future of the district’s schools,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a bad idea to plan ahead.”

Bae pointed to a facilities report drafted by Kaestle Boos Associates (in conjunction with two outside consultants) which details building deficiencies: water stained ceiling tiles, step cracking in interior walls, vertical cracking in walls, missing floor tiles, cracks in chimneys, concrete wall cracks, lintel rusting, aged heating mechanicals, the need for updated ventilation systems, the lack of fire suppression systems, outdated electrical capacity, and more. 

The report, titled “Barrington Public Schools Master Plan,” is the Stage I submission to the Rhode Island Department of Education and serves as evidence for the necessity of building upgrades. 

“We need to do something,” Bae said. 

The district hired the same company, KBA, to create multiple options for addressing the building deficiencies. The architecture firm drafted six “pathways” — some options call for building renovations, and other options call for new construction. 

Members of the school building committee recommended Option 2B, and the school committee voted to accept that option.

Bae contends that Option 2B still offers neighborhood schools — one in Hampden Meadows, another at Primrose Hill, and an early learning center at Nayatt. 

But some parents do not agree. They said the new model will mean more students being bused farther to schools and fewer opportunities to build the neighborhood school atmosphere. 

“Every morning from September to June, there’s something precious about seeing nearly a hundred parents walking their children to and from school. It’s the social glue of the entire Sowams neighborhood,” Robert Swarts wrote in a recent letter. Swarts has also spoken publicly during school committee meetings. 

During a recent forum for Democratic town council candidates, Kate Berard addressed that issue specifically. Berard, who has two young children, said she enjoys walking to and from school with her son each day, and that those moments offer a special opportunity for connection. Berard said she would be sad to see that disappear. However, Berard acknowledged that if new school buildings meant the best, most up-to-date education for local students, she would support that. 

When Bae was asked what was driving the proposed changes to the district’s elementary schools, she said it was not one major factor, but many issues. 

“The biggest part is our buildings are in bad shape,” Bae said. 

She spoke about problems with the elementary schools’ heating systems. Bae also mentioned the elementary school classroom sizes, stating that they are small by Rhode Island Department of Education standards. 

District leaders have said Barrington’s elementary schools are also growing more crowded; during a recent school committee meeting officials said a modular classroom is being brought in at Primrose Hill School, although it was not clear when the modular unit would arrive. Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore said it could arrive in the next month or two or possibly as late as January. The school department is using a grant to pay for the modular classroom unit.

School district critics said some of the enrollment increases can be traced to an expanded pre-kindergarten program. The critics say universal pre-kindergarten has not been mandated by the state.

The Stage I report offered a detailed account of the high school building also. Many of the problems identified at the elementary schools are also listed for Barrington High School, but the pathways did not specify the construction plans for the high school.

Bae said the pathways take into consideration the district’s space constraints. She said Primrose Hill School is the only elementary school property that offers “swing-space”: available land that can accommodate the construction of a new school while students are still attending the old school. 

Bae said Nayatt School is limited because it is surrounded by wetlands, and there are concerns about Sowams School and the high school being located in flood zones. 

Price of progress

While some parents in town are concerned about the closure of their neighborhood elementary school, Barrington resident Mark Hanchar is sounding an alarm about the financials surrounding Option 2B. 

Hanchar, an architect, has spoken out during the public school meetings with questions about the potential cost of building the new schools and removing the old ones. KBA officials estimated Option 2B will cost between $98 million and $124 million. 

Hanchar said those figures are quite conservative and the work will likely cost Barrington taxpayers more than that. He is also concerned with the impact on taxpayers, all of whom are still paying for the $68.4 million bond that was used to build the new middle school less than five years ago. 

Kathy Raposa, the finance director for Barrington, said the debt service on the middle school bond for fiscal year 2023 is $4,163,691.

Raposa offered an estimate for a $124 million bond, with a 25-year debt service: Assuming a 3.85 percent rate and 35 percent school construction aid, the debt service would be approximately $5,079,000 per year, she said.

Bae said it is too early to determine how much Option 2B will cost Barrington residents. 

“We can’t work on the numbers until we know the scope of the project,” Bae said. 

The school committee chairwoman added that she is confident town officials will do their due diligence regarding the financials for the project and determine if the proposal is fiscally responsible.

“No plan is going to make everyone happy,” Bae said. “I think the middle school (project) went through similar issues…”

Taxpayers would have the final say, as they would need to approve the construction bond.