What would a $250 million school construction bond mean for Barrington taxpayers? School Committee member TJ Peck said officials have dug deeply into the potential tax impact of the bond and believe it will equate to an increase of $192 per $100,000 of assessed property value.

That means someone who owns a $500,000 home in Barrington will experience a $960 annual tax increase from the bond alone. 

The tax impact would have been a bigger hit to Barrington residents if the district did not have a 55 percent reimbursement rate from the state. That, said Peck, is a game-changer. 

“I really feel that there’s a lot of fiscal responsibility going into this investment,” Peck said. “The vast majority of municipalities in Rhode Island are going through the process. Do you want to pay for every other town? Do you not want Barrington to be part of that?

“Close to 75 percent of the communities (in Rhode Island) are pursuing building construction projects.”

Barrington School Committee Chairman Patrick McCrann said the 55 percent reimbursement rate from the state presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the district and Barrington taxpayers. McCrann said it is very unlikely the state will offer this type of reimbursement for school construction projects any time in the near future.

Peck added: “You’re either part of this group or you’re on the outside looking in for decades. For the four or five that aren’t participating, those taxpayers are going to be sick of sending money to other districts for other schools … if we’re not part of that group, we’re going to be on the outside looking in for a very long time.”

‘Pay the piper’

The $250 million school construction bond in Barrington would equate to a 9.48 percent increase for local taxpayers — that is aside from any other increases included in the normal budget process. 

Peck acknowledged the steep cost, but said the school improvement needs are not going anywhere, and construction costs are only going to increase in the future. 

“You’re going to have to pay the piper at some point,” said Peck, who serves as chairman of the Barrington School Building Committee. “It’s better to do it when you have 55 cents on the dollar.”

Peck and McCrann said Barrington Schools (and Barrington taxpayers) have typically been on the short end when it comes to receiving state aid. They pointed to the years when the state did not have a school aid funding formula. 

But this school construction reimbursement offer is better than anything Barrington has seen in the past. The reimbursement rate eclipses the amount Barrington received when building its new middle school. 

The 55 percent reimbursement means that Barrington taxpayers will be paying down $112 million of the $250 million bond. 

“That’s the Barrington portion,” Peck said. 

Required improvements

“There is a need at all our schools in terms of required investment,” Peck said. 

The committee member said local taxpayers should understand the district and its architects have identified a number of repairs and improvements that would be required whether residents approve the $250 million bond or not. 

“It needs to be done whether people like it or not,” Peck said. “Over the next five, 10 or 15 years, we’re going to have to do this work.”

McCrann said taxpayers now have the option of approving a significant, strategically-planned construction project that will address all the building needs heading into the future. 

“We’ve really made the plan that addresses all the needs,” Peck said. He added that the construction project would allow the district to view future building work as improvements they may want to make, rather than work that they need to do. 

McCrann said school officials have also seen construction costs escalate in recent years. Cost estimates will likely continue to climb, he said. 

Mario Andretti

McCrann said the planned school improvements would be a good investment in the district’s buildings and also in the overall education experience in Barrington. The school committee chairman offered a colorful explanation: “We basically had Mario Andretti racing around in a go-kart,” he said, referring to the well-known race car driver. “We’re going to put him in a much better car.”

McCrann said the district’s teachers and students have achieved at a high level, despite some less-than-desirable building conditions. But that will not be the case, should taxpayers approve the construction bond. 

The renovations and additions planned for Barrington schools will enhance the educational experience, he said. The plans include an option to add a substantial classroom addition at Barrington High School (it would focus on the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) subject areas, and wide-ranging renovations and additions at Nayatt School, Primrose Hill and Sowams.  

“No more, ‘It’s too hot in my room.’ No more, ‘Can I plug this in?’ ” McCrann said. “All the things that were going to be impediments along the way will be erased. When you bring this student to school, not only are there going to be incredible people there helping them grow and learn … there will be incredible spaces” helping them learn. 

Building systems

Peck said the school renovations included in the $250 million bond will be significant — “We’re not just slapping paint,” he said, adding that they will be expanding classroom sizes when the buildings allow for it. 

Peck said he is a strong believer that buildings do not have useful lives, but rather building systems do. He said that the roof of a building may have 30 or 40 years in it, but that does not mean you scrap an entire building when that roof has reached the end of its useful life.

“You replace the roof,” he said. 

Peck pointed across the Warren River for an example. He said the recent renovation of the Tourister Mill building turned a mill building constructed in the late 1800s into a modern and highly-desirable apartment complex.

“We’re reinvesting in building systems,” Peck said of the Barrington schools project. 

But he acknowledged that, “It’s hard to get people to wrap their heads around how a 10 percent increase is being fiscally responsible.”