An architecture firm tasked with studying the district’s two lower elementary schools is advising Pembroke spend more upfront to save in the long-term.
The district hired Manchester architecture firm Dennis Mires P.A. last summer to do a building assessment of its kindergarten through first-grade Pembroke Village School and the second- through fourth-grade Pembroke Hill School, and to recommend whether to renovate both or consolidate them into an expanded Hill school.
According to the firm’s 209-page report released last week to the school board, renovating both schools would cost $14.2 million together, and renovating and expanding Hill school to accommodate Village’s students would cost about $15.4 million. Those estimates are based on current costs. The report recommended adding 5 percent if a project were to be put toward a vote in 2019.
“Our study concluded that, in terms of immediate pricing, it would be better to go with a renovation of each school. However, in the long-term, we believe that it would make more sense to renovate and expand Pembroke Hill,” said Caroline Morel, an architect with the firm.
That’s because selling the Village school should help defray the cost of expanding Hill, the report said, and also because maintaining one building, busing students to just one building, and staffing one building should be cheaper.
The original part of the building at the Village school is more than 100 years old, having been built in 1907, according to the report. The building was also added to in 1951 and 1957.
The building’s structural integrity is “reasonably sound,” the report said, but the gym roof needs to be replaced soon and the foundation on the 1951 addition has moved. The school’s parking is also at maximum, the kitchen undersized and the facility in general is not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Pembroke Hill was built in 1962, added to in 1969, and again expanded in 1984. The building’s structural integrity is also sound, but the report said a sprinkler system should be installed, student support service rooms should be relocated, and that HVAC and electrical upgrades are needed.
If the two schools were to be combined at Hill, the report recommends creating a larger dedicated gym with a stage and extra storage, upgrading the kitchen to accommodate more students, relocating the teacher workroom and lunchroom, and adding parking.
Both schools should do some asbestos remediation and should test for lead in the water and paint, the report said. Neither building is well insulated and energy-efficient updates are recommended for both.
The report also took a look at demographic trends. It found that despite a pattern of declining enrollment in New Hampshire and Pembroke, the student population was eventually expected to tick upward, according to state projections. The town is currently seeing heavy interest from residential developers, and about 200 units are before the town for regulatory approval.
The Village school could be over capacity by 2040, those projections suggest. The report also noted that the number of students put on special education plans is expected to increase, which could put an increased strain on the district’s preschool program.
A committee of parents, staff and residents are working on their own recommendation about what to do with the two schools. They are expected to present their findings to the school board Tuesday.
(Lola Duffort can be reached at 369-3321 or lduffort@cmonitor.com.)