Dividing Space In Groton's Middle Schools

School administrators are looking for ways to divide or convert space at West Side and Cutler Middle Schools to minimize the need for portable classrooms, Director of Buildings and Grounds Wes Greenleaf said.

Administrators, principals and department heads met Thursday afternoon to discuss where to locate programs in each school, but made no final decisions.

Some tentative choices regarding space were made recently, however. The department initially considered cutting up four large science rooms at Cutler to create two additional classrooms, then decided against it. Greenleaf said administrators concluded the smaller rooms would not accommodate the science program and would not save enough money to make it worth it.

"You would have ended up with science rooms that are just plain too small," he said. The administration is still weighing whether to convert a classroom at Cutler into an additional guidance office.

At West Side, the technical education shop may be divided into three spaces or two, depending on what programs are housed there. Administrators are also considering converting the large art room into two classrooms. Greenleaf said that would be a difficult decision because it's a beautiful art room.

Superintendent Paul Kadri and Greenleaf will tour both middle schools this week to take another look at space. Then they would meet with principals again and make final decisions.

"I see all this happening in the next two weeks," Greenleaf said.

The department still plans to house six teams, with a maximum of 100 students per team, at each middle school.

West Side and Cutler are about the same size and were built within four years of one another. West Side was built in 1956 and had an addition put on in 1992. Cutler built in 1960, with an addition in 1968.