Newport This Week

Cost Concerns for Pell Expansion



A detailed budget for the Pell Elementary School expansion was presented to the Newport School Building Committee on May 10 and to the School Committee on May 11 amidst concerns that the cost of the project may exceed its $7.4 million price tag.

Two factors prompt the concern: the cost of construction materials has risen, and upgrading the school’s stormwater management system could be more expensive than originally expected.

Designers and builders, who are still working on finalizing the numbers, are scheduled to present them on May 17 at a special meeting of the School Building Committee. The School Committee will be given the budget later that week.

Kyle Lentini, of Downes Construction, the project manager, told the School Committee they will have answers at that time for the stormwater runoff issue, as well as for any necessary changes arising from increased material costs.

At a May 5 public meeting, he said the design team is exploring ways to reduce the use of steel and lumber by employing various building techniques.

The cost of installing an upgraded stormwater management system was also discussed at the School Committee meeting. The existing system cannot cope with excessive rainwater, and neighbors have complained that their property is being flooded. With a larger building, the volume of runoff will be increased. Further, more rainwater flows onto the school property from the eastern, uphill side, down from West Main Road, which must be managed.

“We’ve provided for a significant package on the east side of the property,” said Jeremy Couto of Behan Bros., the builder for the project.

Couto said a diversion beam and drainage package is in the process of being designed for that end of Pell’s property, although he added that the current budget may not have room for it.

There was some good news regarding the cost. The design work is about 90 percent completed, according to Couto. “We have a lot of ink on paper,” he said. Plans have been sent to subcontractors, who are looking for ways to cut costs, he said.

Rogers High Update:

Newport will take its first look at proposed designs for a new high school on May 24 at a meeting of the School Building Committee, along with members from the district’s administration, the School Committee, and others with backgrounds in architecture and design.

Rehabilitating the gym at Rogers High, rather than building a new one, was discussed at the May 10 School Building Committee meeting.

“I believe it would be a big constraint on the design,” said School Building Committee member Patrick Kelly, explaining that the siting of the new school would be radically affected by attaching it to a rebuilt gym, moving its footprint much closer to the existing school buildings.

“We’re a little bit intrigued by keeping the old gym,” said Cathie Elithorpe of SLAM Collaborative, architects for the new high school.

She added that there would be several floor and site plans prepared, some with the gym’s inclusion, when they are unveiled on May 24.

In other business:

The Committee approved 11 agreements with both the Newport Community School and the East Bay Community Action Program to fund a variety of programs. The Community School will provide specialists to all three of the district’s schools, to work with students who have fallen behind due to the pandemic, those who need help with their behavior, for others who require emotional support, and for students who are homeless. EBCAP will provide after-school and summer programs for children with the same or similar needs. The total cost of these is $592,000. The district itself will pay $169,000, which is already budgeted for in its FY22 budget. The federal government is providing another $220,000. The remaining $203,000 will be initially funded by the district but very likely will be reimbursed by Washington.

Budget director Ronald Gonsalves reported that the district is on track to end the year with a $140,000 surplus. While this result is by no means certain, it would be added to last year’s surplus of $595,000, giving the district a bank balance of nearly $750,000 without any debts owed to the city for a bailout in 2018.

Colleen McAndrews, director of Human Resources, reported that the search for a new principal for Thompson Middle School is down to four finalists, who will be interviewed May 12. The process began with 29 candidates. The list was whittled to eight and reduced to the final four after a first round of interviews last week.

Committee member Robert Leary asked if students in grades 6-12 could return to school for all five days of the week, rather than the current four. (Pre-kindergarten to fifth grade has attended Monday through Friday all year.) Supt. Colleen Burns Jermain said they could not, at least not through the end of May, as it is still necessary to bring remote learners from the higher grades to school for in-person testing and assessments.

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