New temporary classrooms will be built this summer to the left of Allen Brook School’s main entrance, seen here, to alleviate crowding at the K-2 school. Observer photo by Jason Starr
New temporary classrooms will be built this summer to the left of Allen Brook School’s main entrance, seen here, to alleviate crowding at the K-2 school. Observer photo by Jason Starr
Two temporary classrooms will be built outside Allen Brook School this summer as a short-term solution to space constraints at Williston’s kindergarten-through-second-grade school.
According to Champlain Valley School District Chief Operations Officer Gary Marckres, construction funds and impact fees from new housing projects have been set aside to complete the project. The two classrooms will have 750 square feet apiece, each with its own bathroom. They’ll be attached to each other in one prefabricated “modular” building.
The district has not yet put out a bid or chosen a contractor for the project, Marckres said.
“This is definitely a bridge investment,” he said. “It gives us some time to do a more comprehensive, district-wide, long-term plan because we have some space pressures we see coming in other places as well.”
The location of the classrooms will likely be to the left of the building’s main entrance, according to Williston Lead Principal Greg Marino. He said no decisions have been made about which classes will be assigned to the space or how the space will be used.
“Whatever programming we decide to put in there we would make it consistent for the whole year, just to make it the least disruptive as possible,” Marino said. “And what we decide for next year might be different the following year.”
Temporary prefabricatedclassrooms have been used at ABS in the past, when the school accommodated more grade levels. The new classrooms are expected to be in place until the school board requests — and voters approve — bond funding for permanent additions to ABS and other district schools.
A demographic study the board commissioned last year estimated that the student population at ABS will increase by 55 students over the next five years.
“Space will continue to be an issue in the building until a larger renovation can happen,” said Marino.
