Newton Schools Hope For Countryside Elementary School Renovation

NEWTON, MA — The city received a hopeful sign this month, a year after it submitted paperwork to the state that it was hoping for help to fund a major renovation of Countryside Elementary School: The Massachusetts School Building Authority is choosing to investigate the possibility of funding a renovation at Countryside.

"A properly reconstructed Countryside School is the next highest priority on Newton's long-range plan due to facility condition issues, the facility's failure to support the educational program and the extensive reliance upon inferior quality short-term annex construction as well as modular classrooms," the district said in a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority last January.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority helped fund rebuilding Angier and Cabot elementary schools in recent years. Last year the city sent a Statements of Interests indicating Countryside and Franklin schools were next on the list in terms of renovation priorities for the district.

This year the MSBA indicated it has selected to move forward with a study of Countryside Elementary School. During this phase a team of MSBA architects and engineers will visit the school, evaluate the physical condition of the school, determine if there is overcrowding, consider future enrollment projections, and the ability of the facility to support the anticipated educational program.

"This step does not mean that Countryside has, or will be, selected to be partially funded by the MSBA, but it moves us one step closer to that potential outcome," Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said in a statement.

Following the site visit and investigation, the MSBA will decide whether Countryside will move into the Eligibility Phase in the spring. If it does, the district will form a building committee, set design enrollment, and execute the MSBA’s standard Feasibility Study Agreement.

It's not clear how the district will proceed if the MSBA does not agree to help fund the school. But if it does agree to help fund the renovation, it will likely be years before construction begins, the mayor said.

"If Countryside is selected to move forward with the MSBA, the process will take many years of planning and study as well as decisions about funding sources before construction would begin," Fuller said. "While the pandemic has created many challenges, it also provides opportunities to work on long range capital plans such as this."

Countryside was built in 1953 as a small neighborhood school. Just five years later, the district added an annex in 1958 to address enrollment pressures that have only continued to grow in the past six decades. The district eventually constructed modular classrooms adjacent to the annex in the late 1990s. Avalon Bay, which has some 300 units, added to the pressure when it was built in 2003. The district has expressed concern that new construction nearby will only add to increased enrollment, despite lower enrollment amid pandemic.

Previously: Newton Eyes Countryside, Franklin Schools For Renovation

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.