East Bridgewater Unveils $125 Million Elementary School Project
School Building Committee presents plans for new Central Elementary School with synthetic turf field and enhanced parking to replace 75-year-old facility
EAST BRIDGEWATER - August 5 - The East Bridgewater School Building Committee presented plans for a new $125 million Central Elementary School project to the Select Board Monday evening, outlining a comprehensive replacement of the town's aging 75-year-old elementary facility.
The project includes construction of a new elementary school building, a multi-sport synthetic turf field, enhanced parking facilities, and playground areas. The Massachusetts School Building Authority is expected to contribute approximately $49 million toward the project, leaving an estimated $76 million district share for the town.
"The project is moving along rapidly, a lot of work's been put into it, and certainly we're looking for every opportunity to share the project with the community," said Gina Williams, Superintendent of Schools and Chair of the Central School Building Committee.
The committee chose new construction over renovation after analyzing building challenges that cannot be resolved through repairs or additions. Matt Gulino from LeftField Project Management, the project's owner representative, explained that the current building faces numerous issues including electrical problems, plumbing failures, ADA accessibility challenges, and rotted window sills.
"There was an electrical issue in the spring that resulted in two days of missed school, which that's a big deal," said Kevin Sullivan, also from LeftField Project Management. "Given the age of the building and given what we've studied and discovered, these emergency repairs are becoming less predictable, more expensive, and I'd have to say dangerous at times."
The committee considered a base repair option estimated at $60 million but determined it would not address educational programming needs and would receive no state funding. The MSBA does not participate in base repair programs, meaning the entire cost of that option would fall on East Bridgewater taxpayers.
The new building design features two wings connected by a central area. Each wing houses a grade level in what the architects call "neighborhoods," with pre-kindergarten and kindergarten on the first floor and first and second grades on the second floor.
"There was a big emphasis on each grade level, having a team of teachers and having common space," said Gene Raymond from Raymond Design Associates, the project's architectural firm. The common spaces between classrooms allow for group activities and pull-out programs within each grade-level neighborhood.
The central area includes a gymnasium sized for high school basketball that can be divided in two, a cafeteria with a stage, and a media center. The design allows community access to the gym and cafeteria after school hours through a separate entrance.
The project incorporates several cost-saving measures implemented over the past year. The committee reduced the building's square footage by approximately 20,000 square feet and selected more economical heating and cooling systems. Most recently, they eliminated decorative sloped roofs, saving roughly $1 million.
"We need this building to be educationally appropriate, but it also has to be cost effective," Sullivan said. "That's something we talk about at every meeting and we're taking it very seriously."
The site plan addresses traffic flow concerns by separating bus and parent drop-off areas. Buses will use a dedicated lane along Route 18, while parents will use the front of the building accessed from Central Street. The design adds more than 120 parking spaces, with many positioned between the new elementary school and the existing junior-senior high school to serve community events.
The project includes replacement of two softball fields that currently occupy the new building's proposed site. These will be relocated to the footprint of the current Central Elementary School after demolition. A new synthetic turf field will be constructed where the old building stands.
Committee members defended the choice of synthetic turf over grass, citing year-round usability and reduced maintenance. The turf field will accommodate multiple sports including football, soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey.
"The wonderful thing about turf fields is you can play on them all winter. Any time there's not snow on them," Raymond explained. "But they hold up a lot better for multi-sport, but just in use."
The project timeline calls for submission of schematic design documents to the MSBA by Aug. 28, with a board decision expected at the October MSBA meeting. If approved, the town would vote on the project in November, requiring both a two-thirds majority at town meeting and approval in a ballot vote.
Construction would begin in early 2027 if all approvals are secured, with the new school opening for the 2028-2029 school year. The existing building would remain operational during construction, with students moving to the new facility before demolition begins.
The committee has conducted extensive community outreach, attending 16 community events and holding four public forums. They plan additional forums as the project moves toward the November vote.
"We will meet anyone, anywhere, anytime, whether it's one person at a coffee shop, the Kiwanis, we'll go anywhere," Sullivan said. "You just gotta tell us."
Select Board member Katherine Mullen praised the committee's transparency while expressing concerns about voter education, particularly reaching younger families who would most benefit from the new school.
"This building really is going to be for people about your age, really, right? Because that's the people that are going to have the children, five, six, seven, whatever it is, that are going to utilize this," Select Board Chair Peter Spagone told Mullen.
The project represents the largest municipal investment in East Bridgewater since construction of the junior-senior high school. The MSBA reimbursement rate includes incentive points worth $2.5 to $3 million for good maintenance practices and energy-efficient design features.