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Block Island leaders weigh replacing 1933 elementary wing after bids exceed authorization
Summary
School and town officials said a full renovation bid returned at about $13 million, above the $10.6 million voter authorization, prompting the district to pursue a new Stage 1 application by February and to engage the community on whether to replace the 1933 elementary section.
School and town officials in New Shoreham told residents at a joint annual meeting that the district is reevaluating a long-planned renovation after bids came back substantially higher than the voter-authorized amount. A single bid for the full project returned at about $13.04 million, officials said, compared with a $10.6 million authorization secured at a prior financial meeting.
The discrepancy has prompted the district to postpone the larger project and to focus on submitting a Stage 1 application to the state by February, which speakers said is needed to preserve eligibility for roughly 40% reimbursement on qualifying construction dollars. An administrator described Stage 1 as a declaration of intent rather than a full design submission, and the district has engaged educational planners for community-driven concept work.
Committee members said the district completed urgent work—gym repairs, vermiculite remediation and duct cleaning—so the school can remain open, while larger decisions about the older 1933 brick wing are deferred. Officials described a planning path that would allow a new elementary building to be sited while students remain in the current facility; one speaker said the gym (built about 15 years ago) will remain in place and much of the immediate health-and-safety work has been addressed.
Speakers stressed that the existing voter authorization for roughly $6 million still appears on the books but emphasized that any repurposing or new plan would go back through public vetting and, if necessary, a rescission and reauthorization process at financial town meeting. The administration named Manuel Carrera as the educational planner helping the district with enrollment and facility planning. The committee also asked the administration to gather enrollment forecasts and other data to inform decisions about building size, future use and whether repurposing the older building would be cost-effective.
The meeting closed with a reminder that remediation and interim repairs—especially for heating and basement moisture—remain priorities while the district develops longer-term options and the Stage 1 submission is prepared.
