Winchester schools ask city for $500,000 feasibility study for Garland Quarters renovation or replacement

Winchester Public Schools staff asked Winchester City Council on Jan. 21 to include a $500,000 feasibility study in the city’s March budget cycle to evaluate renovation and replacement options for Garland Quarters Elementary School and related capital work at other elementary campuses.

The request, presented by the school district’s director of operations, described three design options — from targeted mechanical and lighting upgrades to a larger renovation and classroom-addition plan — and provided rough cost estimates intended for planning only. The district did not receive formal approval or appropriation at the meeting; staff said the feasibility study would be the next step before any bond or construction request.

The feasibility study would determine whether to repair, renovate or replace the 1955 portion of Garland Quarters Elementary School, resolve chronic site and mechanical problems described by district staff, and evaluate campus circulation, parking and bus‑loop options that now place buses or staff on adjacent city streets.

District staff described several conditions driving the study request. Garland Quarters includes a front section built in 1955 whose mechanical systems were described as “at the end of their useful life”; the district reported asbestos that is…