School Officials Look at Existing Buildings for Short-Term Space Needs

School officials are intent on addressing the space crunch in Braintree schools, at least in part, by September 2014.

Superintendent Dr. Peter Kurzberg said this week that discussions are ongoing in the School Building Committee over how to add classroom space by then. Committee members are focusing on utilizing existing classrooms at the former schools Monatiquot, Foster and Eldridge.

The School Committee tasked the building committee in February with examining both short- and long-term space needs solutions after last year receiving a report on long-lasting but costly fixes such as new construction, and this past winter wrestling with the option of adding permanent modular classrooms to each of Braintree's six elementary schools.

In the short-term, the school department could re-open Monatiquot School as a kindergarten center, Dr. Kurzberg said. That possibility has been floated for some time by full-day kindergarten and other advocates, including School Committee member Pam Kiley.

Monatiquot is set to have at least two full-day kindergarten classrooms starting next fall and is partially leased by the Montessori School on a one-year lease. It contains 12 classrooms.

School officials may also look at using Foster or Eldridge. Foster has seven classrooms and is currently being used by an adult special needs organization. Eldridge is empty and has five classrooms.

Opening the center at Monatiquot and/or using Foster and Eldridge would require substantial planning, Dr. Kurzberg said. A proposal would need to be an early part of the budget discussions focusing on the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2014 and would therefore need to come before the School Committee sometime this summer or fall.

Looking out beyond 2014, Dr. Kurzberg said school officials will be discussing their plans with the Massachusetts School Building Authority with the hope that the MSBA may help fund permanent modular classrooms or regular construction classrooms at the elementary schools.

The School Building Committee meets next on June 4.