Contrary to what some have said, local leaders note the new middle-high school proposal before voters Nov. 7 is the culmination of a close to two-decade discussion about educational facilities in #MiddletownRI.
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CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
FIELDING NAIR — A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (OCTOBER 23, 2023) — In April 2007, a plan to completely overhaul Middletown’s schools was first rolled out.
Named the “Fielding Nair Report” after the authors of the ambitious proposal, the centerpiece was a new high school at the former Starlight Drive-In at 1225 Aquidneck Ave. Gaudet Middle School next door was to be remodeled and the Valley Road campus now home to Middletown High would have been transformed into a new early childhood center combining the elementary schools there.
At the time, the price tag for the project was about $122 million, with the state expected to pay about 30 percent of the eligible costs. Ultimately, the town opted against putting the project to voters, deciding instead on a $10 million stopgap school renovation bond instead.
Fast forward to today and a very similar plan is on the Nov. 7 ballot — but one with numerous added benefits.
In addition to a new high school, Middletown gets a new middle school along with the possibility of a new prekindergarten program, dozens of units of affordable housing, a community center at what’s now Aquidneck School and a systematic overhaul of the way the district does business.
“When you look at what was proposed in Fielding Nair, it’s amazing how similar it is to what’s on the ballot for Nov. 7,” Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said. “We’ve been kicking this can down the road for close to 20 years now and all we’ve really done is delayed finding a lasting solution.”
When the Fielding Nair report came out, one of the talking points was the town would sell off the Aquidneck, Forest Avenue, Kennedy, Linden and Oliphant school properties to recoup some of the costs.
The report itself was reaffirmed by the School Committee in 2008 and again in 2013. Visit https://mdl.town/FieldingNair online to check out a copy of the revised report from November 2013.
According to press reports at the time, Fielding Nair said the Aquidneck land was expected to net about $100,000, with $800,000 projected for the Forest Avenue site. Because of their location along West Main Road, the Kennedy, Linden and Oliphant school properties were projected to bring in $2.4 million, $3.6 million and $3.7 million respectively.
In the proposal before voters, Middletown keeps every one of those sites — and potentially see dramatic improvements too.
The Aquidneck School property could be repurposed as a community center, an asset that’s noticeably missing from Middletown’s catalogue. The way the site is envisioned by local leaders, teens could be playing a game of pickup basketball in the gym while a group of adults could be learning Spanish in one of the classrooms.
Since this concept first was discussed late this summer, local leaders have said grants and other non-tax dollars would fund this project.
“One thing I’ve heard consistently is there’s no community center in Middletown and it’s something we desperately need,” Brown said. “Not only are we picking up new community spaces with the auditorium in the new middle-high school building, but we’re creating another place for Middletown residents and businesspeople to use and grow with the Aquidneck School site.”
Across town at the Forest Avenue School property, Brown said the Learning Center wing on the eastern side of the building seems perfect for a potential new prekindergarten program, which would be a first for Middletown.
The open floor plan and unique learning spaces create a wonderful way for local children to get introduced to the Middletown schools for the first time and start in the same place. Kindergarten and first graders are expected to occupy the other parts of the building.
“It’s been shown over and over again how much every child — no matter background or ability — benefits from a strong pre-k program,” Brown said. “With our new space, our youngest Middletowners will all get the benefit of the same instruction and foundation, which will only help them as they move into kindergarten and first grade, building what they’re learning one lesson on the next.”
While Linden Park at 141 West Main Road remains destined to be a community park, the former Kennedy School site at 740 West Main Road is very much in play.
That property is part of a one-of-a-kind proposal to remake 15 underused acres from 600-740 West Main Road. The site includes the former Navy Lodge land at the corner of Coddington Highway and moving north, the West Main recreational complex, the Middletown Public Library and Kennedy School parcels.
The town continues to negotiate a land lease with a trio of local developers, who’ve pledged to bring apartments, mixed retail and office space, a hotel, new library and other amenities to the site. Even though the property sits in the heart of Middletown’s commercial district, the town hasn’t collected a nickel in taxes there since the World War II era.
At a recent meeting, the town administrator Brown said Middletown lawyers and representatives for the development team are making progress with working out an agreement, which will have to be approved by the Town Council before it goes into place. See https://mdl.town/Shares for more.
As for the land at 26 Oliphant Lane, Brown said consultant Frank Spinella continues to progress with plans for affordable housing there. The town is working to redevelop that land and the former Peckham School site at 650 Green End Ave. into places for people to live for a reasonable cost. Check out https://mdl.town/Shares for the latest.
One of the best parts, Brown said, is that the state Department of Education is expected to pay 55 percent of the price tag for one of the most significant components — the new middle-high school.
Under plans before voters on Nov. 7, the new middle-high school would be built on open property just north of Gaudet. Once that work was done and renovations were completed, pre-kindergarteners through first graders would move into the Forest Avenue building, with grades two through five occupying the Middletown High campus.
Figures from the town’s finance offices show the bond would cost the median Middletown
homeowner about $2 a day if it’s approved. To see a detailed report on the projected tax
impacts, visit https://mdl.town/TaxImpact online.
The latest schedule has groundbreaking for the project in the spring of 2025, with opening planned for the fall of 2027.
If the school bond isn’t approved, local leaders have said Middletown will end up spending at least as much money in repairs, continue to have old schools and not have all the add-ons either.
“There are a lot of moving parts here and we get it, but this is all part of an ongoing planning process that we’ve been working on as a community for close to 20 years now going back to the Fielding Nair report,” Brown said. “It might seem complicated, but when you really look at it, we have an opportunity here to give our students, our teachers and our community a fresh start and we’re getting all of that for about the same money that was discussed with Fielding Nair. It’s the culmination of an exciting process and we can do better and hopefully we’re given that chance to do better.”
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/9597/NYCU-FN