ANDOVER — To save money, the School Committee is considering permanently closing Shawsheen Elementary School in conjunction with a project to replace Bancroft Elementary School.
Local officials contend that Bancroft, a wooden-framed school built in 1969, is too high-maintenance to keep it open. Planning with the state on a major construction project is underway.
The number of students who will call a new elementary school home, pending state approval, must now be determined by the School Committee. A decision is expected in early December.
To close Shawsheen, the town would have to build a new school large enough to fit students from both Bancroft and Shawsheen.
The School Department would also have to redistrict its elementary schools to accommodate the remaining students from Shawsheen who would not fit into the new building.
"It's on the table," School Committee member Annie Gilbert said of the proposal to close Shawsheen Elementary. "No matter what happens, when you bring a new building on line, you do need to look at your district lines. This will be an opportunity to do that when we open the new school."
There are currently 10 public schools in Andover — six elementary schools, three middle schools and Andover High School.
Built in 1924, Shawsheen is not handicap accessible and is considered by Andover Plant & Facilities Director Joe Piantedosi to be an expensive building to maintain.
As an open-enrollment school, parents living in all parts of town can apply to send their children to Shawsheen, which now consists of 280 students in pre-kindergarten through second grade.
"Joe Piantedosi has told us in no uncertain terms that Shawsheen has a short shelf life," School Committee Chairwoman Deb Silberstein said. "Operating 10 schools is expensive. If we can operate nine, that will be less expensive."
Under guidelines handed down this summer from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, Andover will be allowed to build a new elementary school for up to 500 students.
But if a strategy to help solve overcrowding problems at Shawsheen is incorporated into the construction plan, the building authority will allow up to 200 additional Shawsheen students in grades K-2 to enroll in the new elementary school. Such a plan would require redistricting.
Members of the School Committee said they might also consider placing students enrolled in Shawsheen's townwide preschool program at the newly-built elementary school.
No decisions will be made before the committee collects feedback from parents, teachers, Bancroft abutters and other stakeholders. A series of meetings is scheduled for later this month.
"Now's the time," Gilbert said. "People need to know we're discussing this. We really have a responsibility to look at this (from) a districtwide and a long-term perspective."
The choice of where to locate a new elementary school also hinges on the School Committee's decision on how many students will eventually occupy it.
A seven-member School Building Committee is charged with deciding whether to build a replacement for Bancroft on the current footprint of the school, or on the same parcel but closer to either Holt or Bancroft roads.
Preliminary engineering work on the site, located at 15 Bancroft Road, is underway. Gilbert said the selection of an alternate site for the new school is "very unlikely" at this point.
School Building Committee Chairman Mark Johnson said the panel hopes to decide on a location for a new school within the next two or three months.
The committee was scheduled to meet yesterday with abutters of Bancroft Elementary to discuss the options.
"We wanted to get as much public input as we could early on," Johnson said.
UPCOMING MEETINGS:
Tuesday, Nov. 17, 6 p.m.
School Committee meeting with School Building Committee and design firm — School Administration Building, second floor conference room, 36R Bartlet St.
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 8 a.m.
School Building Committee regular meeting — Town Offices, third floor conference room, 36 Bartlet St.
Tuesday, Nov. 24, 7 p.m.
Continued discussion during regular School Committee meeting — School Administration Building, second floor conference room, 36R Bartlet St.
For updates on the Bancroft project, read School Committee Member Annie Gilbert's blog at: http://www.bancroftbuildingproject.blogspot.com/
