Building Committee Straw Poll Splits 12-10 Between Pre-K-4 and Pre-K-6 New Construction

WEST BRIDGEWATER — March 25, 2025 — West Bridgewater's School Building Committee split nearly evenly on grade configuration in a non-binding straw poll, with 12 members favoring a pre-kindergarten through grade 4 new construction option and 10 favoring pre-kindergarten through grade 6 new construction, ahead of a binding vote scheduled for April 8. The committee, meeting for its fifth feasibility-phase session, reviewed total project cost estimates ranging from $144 million for a pre-K-4 new build to $180.7 million for a pre-K-6 addition-renovation, with an effective MSBA reimbursement rate of approximately 44 cents on the eligible dollar rather than the certified base rate of $54.79. The session's sharpest concern was wastewater disposal: civil engineering consultants put the probability of on-site DEP permitting for a wastewater treatment plant — required for any pre-K-6 option — at roughly 50 percent, citing groundwater mounding enforcement near wetlands, with no identified off-site alternative. The committee also approved HMFH invoice number 4317, a $66,000 lump-sum feasibility study payment, by voice vote.