Faq
Q. I read in the paper/online that this project was already approved. Why is this on the ballot for the March 27 Town election?
A. Phase II was approved by Special Town Meeting on March 8 by a nearly unanimous vote of 139 to 2, however this support for the project is subject to the outcome of the ballot question on Tuesday, March 27. In other words, Town Meeting has voted to authorize borrowing for the project-- if a majority of the Town's registered voters approve it on election day.
Q. What is the position of various Town committees or boards on the Phase II project?
A. Town Meeting, School Committee, Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, EFPBC and Planning Board have all voted in support of this project. Furthermore, Superintendent Dr. Judith Evans and Town Manager Richard Howard support the project.
Q. What is a “debt exclusion” override? Once the Phase II expansion is paid for, will my taxes go down?
A. A debt exclusion override is a temporary increase in taxes to pay for a specific debt – typically a capital expense such as a building renovation or repair. It is not permanent. When the project has been paid for, the temporary increase will be revoked and taxes reduced. See, e.g., http://www.mass.gov/dor/docs/dls/publ/misc/levylimits.pdf or a short explanation, https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2017/09/09/overridesandexclusions.pdf
Q. What will the project cost the average Winchester taxpayer per year?
A. The residential tax rate impact to Winchester property owners and taxpayers is estimated at this time to be between approximately $9.25 to $10.33 per $100,000 in assessed value (see Bonding Table, below for example). The actual cost at the time the funds are borrowed will depend on a number of factors, including:
- Final Project Cost - While the authorization to borrow is limited to $10.7M, the Project Cost includes significant allowances and contingencies. Therefore, the project may come in under budget. The amount ultimately borrowed with the bond(s) will be limited to what is actually spent on the project.
- Bonding Term - It is the discretion of Town management and the Board to determine the length of bonding for the project. Typically, the Town bonds major capital projects at 20-25-year terms with level debt service.
- Interest Rate - We cannot predict interest rates on municipal bonds with certainty, however, the Town's bonding consultants have modeled the debt service on anticipated interest rates of 4.5% (20 year term) and 5% (25 year term) for review by the Board and management. (Interest rates have climbed from where they were during reconstruction of Winchester High School, when the first $60 million was borrowed at less than 3.4%.
Bonding Table
Although the final project cost is not yet known, it is limited to $10.7 million.
The Comptroller has made available a level debt schedule for this maximum amount at 5.0% over 25 years.
This is seen as one likely scenario for bonding, which impacts the residential tax rate by approximately $10.30 per $100,000 in assessed value.
Final project cost, interest rates, preferred term and the Town's bond rating will all impact the final cost of borrowing and annual tax impact.
Q. Why is this expansion project is needed for McCall Middle School?
A. The middle school grades of 6-8 are experiencing the most student enrollment pressure within the school system and the building is currently over-capacity, with spaces not designed as classrooms being used to serve students and teachers. In addition, enrollment projections indicate a likely increase of 150 students at grades 6-8 within the next five years. These enrollment projections were validated in October 2017 by the UMass Donohue Institute for Public & Economic Policy.
Multiple options to address McCall space needs were considered during the development of the 2017 Winchester Public Schools Facility Master Plan. The preferred option converts existing ground floor space below the gymnasium to three classrooms (Phase I) followed by a three-story, six-classroom addition at the rear of the school with other key space program improvements (Phase II).
Phase I will quickly provide three (3) new classrooms from converted space by September 2018, however most of this "new" space merely allows the district to reclaim the library which has been subdivided into two instructional spaces due to enrollment growth. This phase is anticipated to be in construction this summer.
Phase II will provide up to six (6) new classrooms, expand the cafeteria, create teacher workspace from a storage area, and support the growth in student athletics and public access to toilets at Manchester Field. Funding for this phase is subject to town-wide vote, on the March 27th election ballot as Question #1.
Q. What is driving the projected increases in enrollment? How sure are we that we really need this space and this project?
A. Our September 2017 K-12 in-district enrollment of 4,536 is projected to increase within five years to 5,141 (13.3%) and reach 5,253 by 2027 (15.8%). In the eight years since the previous addition to the building was completed in 2009, enrollment at McCall has increased by 175 students. The Master Plan projects another 175 McCall students by the year ten (2026-27).
From the 2006-07 through 2016-17 school years, Winchester saw an increase of 679 students or 17.2% growth. Although this growth rate is down from the nearly 28% growth rate during the years from 2003 to 2012, Winchester continues to grow at double-digit rates while much of Massachusetts continues to see flat or decreasing enrollment.
These increases come primarily from three sources: children already born and living in town; new registrations caused by families moving in to new construction and “demo/rebuilds” of existing older houses converted into larger homes or multi-unit town-homes; and likely new, large-scale 40B housing developments. Since the 10-year WPS Facility Master Plan was approved in July of 2017, another 40B project has been submitted to and approved by MassHousing.
Q. Where any alternatives to this expansion project considered?
A. In a word, yes. A number of alternative options were considered during the Master Planning process and presented to the public in Community Meetings for feedback. Flansburgh Architects' consultant team and the Master Plan Working Group looked at creating a sixth grade academy to be located at Parkhurst School, Mystic School, or possibly Lincoln Elementary School. All these options were costly and had serious drawbacks.
Lincoln Elementary School, originally Winchester’s high school, is located across the street from McCall. With renovation to accommodate a sixth-grade academy, this building could be well-suited to the needs of sixth graders-- creating a unique "downtown" secondary education campus-- but the K-5 Lincoln population would have to be re-located. Flansburgh Architects developed an option for a new, large K-5 building to combine Lincoln with Muraco (assuming the PreK program stayed at Lynch School). Such a large and high-cost project would require state MSBA funding help and take years to design and build. It would create one disproportionately large, centralized K-5 school in the town-wide context of other smaller neighborhood schools and do so with limited site opportunities for outdoor play/recess and vehicular access/parking.
Parkhurst is currently occupied on one floor by the district’s central office administration and Mystic is occupied mainly by the Town Recreation Department, with some space leased to Kids’ Corner, a private, non-profit preschool and after-school program. Both buildings are more than 50 years old and have significant needs. To comply with current building codes and accessibility laws, both facilities would need elevators, extensive renovation and building system upgrades as well as some expansion of space. Opening a separate sixth-grade location would also add operating costs for some on-site administrative and other staff, and some transportation expense.
Q. Why does the cafeteria need to be expanded? It looks nice. Wasn't it recently renovated?
A. The finishes of the cafeteria (paint, wall tile, flooring, acoustic ceilings and lighting) were updated during the 1997 Library Wing expansion project. However, the 5400sf space itself has not been altered or expanded since its original construction in 1954.
(see original 1953 blueprint, below left and Phase II expansion [shaded], below right)
Phase II of the McCall Expansion Project leaves the existing cafeteria space mostly unaltered, but adds an additional 1480sf on the back (E-Wing/Manchester Field side) of the cafeteria. This will accommodate the existing space short-fall today, enrollment growth beyond the next decade, and additional serving capacity for the larger student body.
Q. Is this project at risk for flooding?
A. Phase II's expansion falls outside the 100-year floodplain, as defined by FEMA flood maps approved in 2010. In the eight years since the maps were first approved, Winchester-- as well as Woburn (upstream) and Medford (downstream)-- have completed several critical flood-mitigation projects designed to further reduce the risk of flooding. A re-mapping by FEMA is not anticipated until Winchester's last two flood mitigation projects are completed: Swanton Street culvert (design complete) and Muraco/MBTA culvert (at schematic design). Both remaining projects are well upstream of the McCall Middle School.