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 secured and marked, a regularly flooding basement, limited on‑site parking and a chiller unit set in a depressed site that overheats in heavy use. Staff said some original equipment manufacturers are no longer in business, which forces custom parts and raises replacement costs.

Officials gave planning‑level cost scenarios to guide council discussion. Staff said upgrading HVAC and lighting at Garland Quarters and Virginia Avenue and renovating the 1955 section would be roughly $18 million for the Quarters project alone and that three large projects together (Corals/Quarters, Virginia Avenue and Frederick Douglass work already completed) could total about $36 million. An alternate scenario presented: roughly $9 million for Virginia Avenue, $9 million for HVAC and lighting at Garland Quarters and $4 million to add 10 classrooms at Garland Quarters.

“We have to start somewhere,” the director of operations said, urging caution about the figures: “take these numbers with a grain of salt,” he said, noting the estimates use 2024 square‑footage rates and include a small allowance for inflation.

School leaders said their preferred approach would fund HVAC and lighting upgrades, renovate the 1955 section of Garland Quarters and create 10 additional classrooms so fifth graders could return to elementary schools; the district said moving fifth grade back to elementary campuses would allow the intermediate campus to be repurposed for middle‑school grades and alternative programs. District staff emphasized the work on HVAC is urgent and likely required within two to five years.

Council members and school board members discussed logistics, historic enrollment changes that first moved fifth grade away, and the feasibility study’s schedule. District staff estimated a firm contracted for the conceptual study could deliver results in roughly six to eight months, which could put schematic designs and bid documents into late 2026, with construction starting as early as early 2027 and completion by mid‑2028 under optimistic assumptions. Staff also said the district will propose the $500,000 study as its top pay‑go priority in the March budget request to council.

Council members flagged budget constraints and debt capacity as key considerations. City staff briefed the bodies on the city’s debt profile and said a $40 million long‑term borrowing program would add about $3 million in annual debt service; one council member noted every penny on the tax rate equals about $489,000 to $500,000 in revenue. City staff and councilors also described potential state‑level proposals — including renewed consideration of a 1% sales‑tax option for school construction and a separate proposal to cap local meals taxes — that could affect funding options but were not decided at the meeting.

No formal motion to fund the feasibility study or to issue bonds was introduced or voted on at the Jan. 21 joint session. The district said the feasibility study would be included in its March budget submission and recommended council consider starting the study before final budget votes.

Votes at the meeting were limited to routine adjournment; there was no council vote on capital funding at the Jan. 21 joint meeting.

Costs, timelines and program designs discussed at the meeting were presented as planning estimates; staff repeatedly cautioned the figures are preliminary and that the feasibility study is intended to refine scope and pricing before any formal borrowing or construction request.

Ending: The school board and council agreed to continue budget and capital planning through the March budget cycle, with the district seeking city support to fund a feasibility study. If the council includes the request in the March budget, staff estimated conceptual work could be complete within six to eight months and construction could begin in 2027, depending on final scope and financing.