Freeman-Kennedy Expansion Project Questions
What funds are being requested and voted on in the special election?
The Norfolk Public Schools are requesting $4,345,042 to fund the schematic design phase through construction documents for a building expansion project at the Freeman-Kennedy School. Design fees include the architect, civil engineer, landscape architect, structural engineer, mechanical engineer, building code consultant, accessibility compliance consultant, acoustical engineer, technology consultant and specification writer for bid documents.
What is the expected impact to the taxpayer if these funds are approved?
If the vote passes for this phase of the project, when will residents see the tax increase on their tax bill?
If the debt exclusion passes for this phase of the project on Feb 1st, the tax impact to the average household in Norfolk will be approximately $170.00 annually. Residents can expect to see the additional cost reflected in their tax bill in FY 2026.
What is included in the project cost estimate? Is furniture, technology, playground equipment and other necessary items part of the soft cost estimate?
The total cost for the Freeman-Kennedy expansion project was estimated at $37,900,000 in August of 2024. This estimate was developed in anticipation of the building being constructed with a Fall 2027 completion date. The cost estimate includes hard construction costs of building the two-story addition, including exterior site work, equipment for a new preschool playground and modifications to the existing roadway. The estimate also includes soft costs for design and construction document development ($4,345,042 currently being requested) funding for classroom furniture, fixtures and technology equipment. The district will solicit bids and will have a final cost in hand prior to requesting funding for the construction phase of the project.
What is the projection for student enrollment growth over the next ten years? Do enrollment projections include students who might attend private school or home school?
The district has contracted with outside vendors to complete three separate demographic studies with enrollment projections. NESDEC studies were completed in 2019 and 2021. The most recent study was completed by Demographic Analytical Advisors in 2024. All three reports are available on the FK Expansion Project website. Findings from all three studies were relatively consistent. The most recent DAA study provides projections through 2035 and anticipates an increase of 204 students over the next ten years. The DAA study notes that not all children in Norfolk will attend the Norfolk Public Schools. Based on an analysis of the private and homeschool data, the study predicts that consistent with past trends approximately 5% of Norfolk students will continue to be educated in alternative settings (private schools, home school).
Could the district hire paraprofessionals to support larger class sizes?
Paraprofessional staff members are not licensed educators. They are not qualified to analyze student assessment data, design lessons or plan interventions. These functions are the responsibility of classroom teachers. Paraprofessional staff implement instruction designed by professional educators. Increasing class sizes negatively impacts the amount of direct, targeted instruction individual students receive from their classroom teachers. Additionally, hiring support staff has become extremely difficult and there is a shortage of candidates. Currently the Norfolk Schools have three vacancies for paraprofessional staff that the district has been actively trying to fill since August.
Will the preschool rooms in the proposed addition accommodate all parents in town who want to send their 3 and 4 year olds to preschool? Does Norfolk provide preschool programming beyond what is required by the state?
Currently the district has approximately 70 families on the waiting list for preschool. We have six preschool classrooms currently housed at HOD. The new preschool space has seven classrooms and an indoor activity space that could be converted to an eighth classroom. This would allow the district to accommodate additional students entering the district with disabilities who require programming, while also allowing us to serve more children off the waiting list. In Norfolk, consistent with state law, we provide preschool programming for students with disabilities as of their third birthday. Preschool programs are integrated, consistent with state requirements, meaning that approximately half of the students in each classroom are students with disabilities. The Norfolk Schools do not exceed state requirements for preschool programming.
What additional staffing will be required to support the building addition?
If the town votes to fund the building expansion project, the addition is expected to open in the fall of 2027. A full-time custodian and a .4 clerical staff member would be hired to manage the maintenance and operational functions of the new space. The cost of this staffing is estimated at $84,896 and would be part of the district operating budget. To help offset these new costs, Norfolk could consider leasing unoccupied classroom spaces to a local collaborative. The FK addition is not expected to reach full occupancy until 2032. The district also projects to add 3.0 classroom teachers in 2027 to address enrollment growth. Teaching positions will need to be added regardless of whether the building project is approved based on growing enrollment.
How will the district afford to staff the additional classrooms when the budget is already tight?
Demographic Analytic Advisors projects 55 new students will enroll between now and the Fall of 2027. Norfolk Public Schools receive Chapter 70 state aid on a per pupil basis. Over the last couple of years Chapter 70 aid has equated to approximately $3600 per pupil. Based on these projections, Norfolk anticipates it will be receiving close to an additional $200,000 in annual state aid.
Has the district considered modular units? Would that be more cost effective?
There were three modular solutions evaluated. These included a two-story modular building connected to the back of the Freeman-Kennedy School, a stand-alone two-story addition and a single story modular building. Two levels of finish were priced for each solution. Estimated costs for the modular options ranged from $28,500,000-32,200,000 for the lower level finish with a life expectancy of 10-15 years and from $30,400,000 to $34,900,000 for a higher level finish with a life expectancy of 20-25 years. The permanent building addition has a life expectancy of 50 years and was priced at $37,900,000. The Norfolk Building committee voted unanimously against recommending a modular solution based on the high cost and low longevity of modular structures.
What are the estimated operational costs for the new expansion?
The annual estimated operational cost for the new FK expansion project is $160,101 for cleaning, maintenance, utilities and supplies.
Has the district considered leasing space from another town?
The Building Committee discussed the possibility of leasing space. Members reviewed a recently executed lease for 60,000 square feet of public education space in the region. The average annual cost of the lease was $850,000. The proposed FK expansion project includes 37,000 square feet of classroom and office space for preschool, as well as classroom space for students in grades 3-6. It does not include a cafeteria/kitchen space, library or gymnasium. If the district were able to find and secure leased space, this additional square footage would need to be added, as well as outdoor play areas. It would be reasonable to estimate that the costs of leasing classroom space could fall in the $600,000 range annually. The large group shared spaces listed above would likely add significant additional cost. Of note, there are very few sites in the area that could accommodate these requirements. Additionally any available site would need to meet state requirements for educational facilities and more than likely would require substantial renovations in order to address the functional needs of the school as well as building code requirements.
If Norfolk opted to pursue leasing, the district would also incur additional annual staffing costs including a full-time nurse, a building administrator, clerical staff, a day custodian, food service staff, special education staffing, as well as art, music and physical education staff. Combining leasing and staffing costs, this option would likely cost Norfolk well over $1.5 million annually or $15 million over a ten-year period.
Enrollment in Norfolk is not a temporary problem and is not expected to decline. While leasing could be a reasonable option for a temporary problem, it would leave Norfolk with the same critical space shortage it is currently facing at the expiration of a lease. Given the high cost of this solution, the limited availability of space and the potential legal considerations that would have to be navigated, the building committee determined this was not a viable solution worthy of further study.
Did the Building Committee look into the possibility of creating an early childhood- preschool program in another location in town?
The Building Committee discussed the possibility of exploring other town owned property and building an alternate Preschool/Early Childhood program. Due to strict building codes and requirements for publicly operated preschool programs, renovating an existing building is often more expensive than building a new structure. Additionally, creating an alternate early childhood site would relieve the space shortage at H. Olive Day, but it does not provide a solution to the significant growth expected in the immediate future at the Freeman-Kennedy School. Addressing enrollment growth in grades 3-6 would then require an additional building project or expansion. Operating a third site for an Early Childhood Program would incur the same added annual costs outlined previously for leased space (additional nurse, clerical, maintenance, special education, food service staff etc.) As a result, the Building Committee ruled this out as not being a cost effective or viable solution.