Space Concerns Given Voice at Braintree Schools Forum

Jean Witt, an ELL teacher based at Flaherty Elementary School, knows first hand the effect that Braintree's space crunch is having on students.

Witt, who spoke during a forum at Braintree High School, teaches English to her students two days a week on the stage at Flaherty, behind a thin divider that barely muffles the sounds of gym and lunch.

"That's such a distraction," Witt said. "I understand it's tight everywhere. We're taking our most significantly needy kids, kids who are coming here with no English... and trying to teach them in a space that is not conducive to their learning."

Dozens of parents and teachers expressed their concerns about the lack of space in the Braintree Public Schools, posed questions to the School Building Committee and shared their ideas for short- and long-term solutions Monday night.

Braintree officials have been wrestling with space in the schools, particularly at the elementary level, for several years. The system has added 700 students since 1998, and enrollment now tops out at more than 5,600.

"This is the essence of our problem," Superintendent Dr. Maureen Murray said.

Proposed solutions – none of which are final, as school officials continue to weigh their options – include: adding classrooms and renovating at all six elementary schools; building gyms with additional space at Ross and Flaherty; constructing a seventh elementary school; and closing the elementary schools and building four larger schools.

Meanwhile, next fall the school department could re-open the 12-classroom Monatiquot School as a kindergarten center. That would free 10 to 12 classrooms across Braintree's elementary schools and provide space for the full-day kindergarten program, though it would stay tuition- and lottery-based for now and classrooms would likely remain next year at Braintree High.

Monatiquot as a short-term space fix is not without its detractors. Several parents Monday night spoke about the importance of kindergarten-age children connecting with their home schools and staff.

Families weigh many factors when deciding to send their children to kindergarten, and separating students does not benefit them, causing instead a "logistical nightmare," said Kerry Piccolo, who has one child at Morrison and another entering kindergarten next year.

Joey Pang, who lives near Monatiquot, questioned why the district would bus students to the school – a narrow road that he said is already difficult to navigate – from all over Braintree. Instead, he suggested opening Monatiquot as a seventh elementary school. That would require re-districting, as would other new construction options, but would be a long-term solution, Pang said.

Re-districting is part of the discussion, School Committee Chair Shannon Hume said, but she and other officials consider it a last resort. Students and parents love their home schools and do not want to have to go through an uprooting, Hume said.

"Kindergarten centers have worked in a lot of communities," Mayor Joseph Sullivan said, adding that the details are "not cast in stone."

While the focus among school officials has been on the elementary schools, younger students inevitably age up, creating similar issues in the middle schools. 

At South Middle School, where offices have been built in the cafeteria and special needs testing often takes place in closets, the building itself has seen an overhaul, but space has not been increased since two modular classrooms were installed in 2001. 

South has added 126 students since 2007, a 24 percent increase in population, according to data provided by parent Sheelagh Corcoran. Matthew Sawtelle, a music teacher at the middle school, said he and other music teachers in the district must teach from carts brought room to room, in hallways and on the stage at Flaherty.

Dr. Murray said she understands that space is a district-wide problem, but that the town must work step-by-step, starting with Monatiquot, renovations slated for East Middle School and identifying the next school project to pitch the state for matching funds.

"It's sort of a triage situation at this point," Dr. Murray said.

Among the fixes brainstormed by residents Monday night include adding a second level to some schools (possible but expensive due to earthquake building codes), moving the school administration to Town Hall to free up Colbert School, and ending elementary school at grade four instead of five.

What do you think the best options are? Would you like to see additions and renovations, new construction or some other solution? Tell us in the comments below.