Select Board Distances Itself From Elementary School Site Discussion

 HARWICH – Select board members made it clear on Monday they are not currently seeking property for a new elementary school in Harwich.

 The real estate and open space committee has been assessing potential new sites for a regional elementary school based on a request from select board member Mark Kelleher.

In making that request to the committee in June, Kelleher cited declining enrollment, especially in Chatham, which the district’s former superintendent, Scott Carpenter, said may drive the need for a regional new elementary school. “I only bring that up just so you can think of a potential property that may be situated between the two towns,” he said.

 “It’s not an imminent thing,” he added. But with dropping enrollment, “we may need one school to serve both towns and geographical location is very important,” he said.

The real estate and open space committee agreed to pursue the request. A preliminary presentation on a few potential sites was discussed at its recent meeting.

 “I know that it has created a buzz,” said select board Chair Peter Piekarski, referring to an article about the discussion in the Sept. 24 issue of The Chronicle. 

 Kelleher thanked the committee for their preliminary due diligence in looking into the matter.

 “However, as this committee was aware and is aware, this scenario is years away from serious consideration if at all, ever needed,” he told the select board on Monday. “The short-term focus of this board needs to be on the regional agreement.” A working group composed of officials from the two Monomoy District towns and the school department are currently meeting to discuss changes to the financial aspects of the regional agreement.

 “Although I can respect the previous comment, I think it needs to be clear that this board has never entertained the notion of seeking property for a new elementary school,” Piekarski said. “It’s never been debated by this board, it’s never been voted by this board, and no directive was ever given by this board to do such a thing.”

Piekarski said the problem he has with the discussion is the concern it has raised, not only in Harwich, but in Chatham as well. Any effort in this direction should come from the school committee, not the select boards in either town, he said.

He added that he appreciated Kelleher’s passion on the subject, “but I think we need to be careful how we proceed with this particular item and allow more of the regional agreement working group to play out,” he said.