School committee asks council to consider modular classrooms as stopgap; councilors ask for more analysis

The Woburn School Committee presented a detailed briefing on March 18 about growing capacity problems across the district and recommended the temporary acquisition and installation of modular classrooms to house the city’s early‑childhood program (ECP) while the district pursues a longer‑term construction plan.

Ellen Crowley, chair of the Woburn School Committee, told the council the district’s preschool and special‑education programs have expanded since 2015 and that several elementary schools — notably the Harold Wyman and Goodyear — are already using non‑instructional spaces for teaching. Crowley said the committee’s ECP task force concluded the district needs additional dedicated space to meet state requirements and special‑education service grids. The committee recommended modular classrooms purchased from a district that is decommissioning them (Nauset Public Schools) as a relatively quick and cost‑effective option to free space in existing school buildings.

Superintendent Dr. Crowley and facilities director Lenny Burnham outlined estimates they had gathered: purchasing the 37 available modular units, transporting and reinstalling them and building foundations would cost in the range of about $2.7–3.5 million, with additional, site‑specific utility connections and contingencies raising the estimate toward $5 million depending on the final site and ground conditions. The committee said the units are in active use at Nauset, have heating and air conditioning, restrooms and dedicated classroom spaces, and a life expectancy the district was told of roughly 20–25 years; the committee described the acquisition as an asset purchase that could be resold later.

Councilors asked for more analysis and independent reviews. Several councilors said they were not prepared to authorize or recommend $5 million without a more detailed cost breakdown, utility and site studies, structural review of the specific modular units, and clear fiscal plans showing how the city would pay for purchase and installation without eroding reserves that factor into the city’s bond rating. Councilor DeMers and others asked whether alternative measures — including broader redistricting, temporary use of existing municipal or nonprofit buildings, a move to full‑day ECP taught in fewer days per week, or use of the Boys & Girls Club or other commercial space — had been fully exhausted. School officials said they had explored many options but concluded they did not provide the district‑wide capacity or the special‑education‑appropriate spaces required by state regulations.

Public comment at the hearing included parents, teachers, and residents from across Woburn. Teachers’ union representatives said classroom crowding and instruction in hallways are occurring now and urged a timely remedy. Parents of children in ECP programs, and citizens speaking for the Woburn Historical Commission and neighborhood groups, urged careful vetting and suggested alternate approaches including preserving or reusing existing assets if feasible. Several residents also asked whether redeveloping the Wyman Castle or other city‑owned properties could be an alternative long‑term solution.

Outcome and next steps: The council received the committee’s PowerPoint and made it part of the permanent record. After council discussion and public comment, the council voted to place the matter on file (no funding was approved at the meeting). Councilors requested additional, project‑specific cost details, independent technical reviews of any candidate modular units, and a site‑selection study before any commitment. School staff said they will return with more detailed cost breakdowns, utility and foundation estimates for candidate sites, and clearer operating‑cost projections for any modular option.

Ending: The presentation clarified the district’s immediate space pressures and established the School Committee’s preference for a temporary modular solution while pursuing a long‑term school construction timeline (MSBA process estimated several years). Councilors uniformly asked for more independent engineering review and precise fiscal options before considering any capital commitment.