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Falmouth schools lay out plan to repurpose buildings, pursue MSBA funding for Lawrence renovation
Summary
Superintendent Lori Durer and finance director Paul Dart presented five options to respond to declining enrollment, including converting T‑ticket to an early learning center, repurposing Morse Pond, reconfiguring grades and seeking Mass School Building Authority support for a major Lawrence School renovation; a Building Needs Committee will study options and recommend a plan to the School Committee in December.
Superintendent Lori Durer and Director of Finance and Operations Paul Dart presented the Select Board with a multi‑part plan to respond to long‑term declines in district enrollment and aging facilities, centering on an eventual major renovation of Lawrence School and new early‑learning capacity.
Durer said the district is seeing a steady enrollment drop—a trend reflected in a 25‑year data slide—and flagged growing demand for early childhood programs and increased special‑needs placements among 3‑ and 4‑year‑olds. "We have a rise in our students with disabilities at the ages of 3 and 4," Durer said, and added that full‑day four‑year‑old programs piloted this year responded to what families requested.
Dart walked the board through five draft options under study. They include converting the T‑ticket building into an early learning center serving 3‑ and 4‑year‑olds, operating three K–4 elementary schools (East Falmouth, Mullen Hall and North Falmouth), taking the Morse Pond building offline for town reuse, reconfiguring grades 5–8 and pursuing a major renovation of Lawrence School. Dart said the Lawrence renovation would require a multi‑year MSBA process if the town applies and is accepted, with a feasibility funding request (roughly $2 million) anticipated at town meeting and a possible construction window in the early 2030s if successful. "If we apply next year for MSBA funding, we would apply in January to April. We'd hear back from the MSBA in December," Dart said.
Board members asked whether the plans were fixed and how transitions would affect programming. Durer said the proposals are not predetermined: the newly formed Building Needs Committee will gather staff, family and community feedback and deliver a recommendation to the School Committee (a recommendation hearing is scheduled for Dec. 10). The committee includes two school committee members, the principal of Lawrence, the town manager, a Select Board member and several community members and staff.
Dart noted administrative timing and cost realities: school design and construction under MSBA generally take years, the district has estimated multi‑million‑dollar design costs and a two‑year construction period once funding and design approvals are in place. He emphasized the need for community forums (several were scheduled) and the ability to consider multiple implementation rollouts, including one‑, two‑ and four‑year transition options for shifting grade placements so families and staff can plan for changes.
Next steps: the Building Needs Committee will collect input and return a recommendation to the School Committee at its December meeting; the School Committee will consider the recommendation afterward. The Select Board reiterated that it has no vote on school committee decisions but encouraged community participation in the forums.
The presentation underscored tradeoffs between expanding early‑learning capacity and consolidating school buildings to match enrollment, and set a public timetable for further study and local decisions.
