Barrington School Officials Seek Public Support for New Middle School Bond

BARRINGTON, RI—Barrington Middle School is in rough shape, having not seen any major renovations since 1968.

Science labs, classrooms, the library and other learning spaces are lacking and not meeting modern standards. Water pools on the roof, leaks into classrooms and floods the basement. There are no sprinklers, but there are cracks in the foundation walls.

The structure's poor shape has earned the school the undesirable distinction of being one of 14 schools in Rhode Island given the lowest building condition rating of "poor" by the Rhode Island Department of Education in a 2013 assessment.

Plans are now underway to build a new middle school with state-of-the art amenities, but everything hinges on voter approval of a bond in November that would authorize the town to issue a 25-year-bond to pay for the project, estimated to cost no more than $68.4 million with the state expected to reimburse up to 35 percent, or at least $16 million.

Officials estimate that the property tax impact would be $1.12 per $1,000 of assessed value. That means a house valued at $400,000 would pay an additional $448 per year in taxes.

To garner community support, town officials have planned a pair of community meetings to provide a project overview and answer questions about costs and timelines. The first was held Wednesday night. If you missed it, another is planned for Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the school.

If the bond does not pass, officials said the alternative would cost roughly $10 million and require a series of capital expenditures over several years for basic repairs. The vision of a new campus with modern classrooms, labs and learning spaces would have to be pared down to the basic essentials.

The town is hosting a comprehensive website with all the details, including the full presentation from the community forums, photos of the existing conditions at the school and detailed drawings of the proposed new school.

Visit http://www.bmsproject.org/ for more information.