Renovation and expansion of the Sowams and Hampden Meadows elementary schools would cost about the same – between $46 and $48 million. They would take about the same time to complete – between 24 and 36 months. They would offer the same number of classrooms and other spaces once finished.

So what exactly separates the Sowams School and Hampden Meadows School sites?

In a word, size. 

One of the few differences between the two school campuses is the total square footage — Sowams sits on 18.21 acres while Hampden Meadows sits on 10.33 acres. And while both properties are impacted by a floodplain, the size of the Sowams property should be the prevailing factor in developing that location as a pre-K to Grade 5 school and repurposing the Hampden Meadows campus into athletic fields, a recreation center or something else altogether. 

Members of the Barrington School Committee are expected to make a decision between the two schools during a meeting on Thursday, Dec. 7. Earlier this week, the committee held a virtual meeting where residents had a chance to share their thoughts on the subject (see the article on page 1). The comments appeared to be split, with benefits offered for both locations.

In this case, size matters.

Because the Sowams campus is nearly twice as large as the Hampden Meadows campus, it represents the best long-term option for this community. Keep in mind, the “long term” is often longer than one might expect.

The town and school leaders who invested in public schools back in the 1950s and ’60s probably never envisioned that their investments would still shape the town’s educational system seven decades later. Yet that’s what typically happens in the public sector. People make decisions today based on short-term analysis, with current engineering and forecasts as a guide, but those decisions have ramifications that last generations.

Without knowing all that will happen between now and the end of the 21st century, we lean toward choosing the public school site with the most space, greatest footprint and most opportunity for flexibility in the coming years. Sowams is that site.