Chariho committee reviews three elementary-school options and hears community concerns about site, cost and timing

Architects and the district’s owner’s project manager presented three conceptual elementary‑school options to the Chariho Regional School Committee on Sept. 23, outlining construction-cost ranges, reimbursement mechanics and a community engagement timeline as the district prepares a Stage 2 application to the Rhode Island Department of Education.

The options presented by SLAM Collaborative and Colliers were: (1) a single regional elementary school on a new site (estimated site need roughly 27–33 acres) with construction cost range presented at about $87–90 million (construction dollars only, per the presenters’ model); (2) “renovate-to-new” at each existing school with additions (estimated $89–98 million); and (3) three new elementary schools (highest estimated construction cost). The presenters emphasized that the numbers shown were construction-cost comparisons only and that total project cost would include site acquisition, abatement, swing space and other “soft” costs not included in those headline ranges.

Why it matters: the district must decide which approach to advance in its Stage 2 packet to RIDE; the chosen approach will shape which properties are considered, what bonuses or reimbursement the district can pursue and the schedule for community meetings and a future bond question.

"This is conceptual work to understand opportunities," said Mark Rhodes, design principal for SLAM Collaborative. "We're showing parity across options so the community can compare apples to apples on construction dollars and programmatic outcomes." Kathy…