In 2012 the Millis School Committee funded a $25,000 Master Plan and Building Facilities study. The study was put out to bid and Tetra Tech, an architectural and engineering firm, was given the contract to complete the study. Tetra Tech conducted their assessment throughout 2013 and presented their findings to the Millis School Committee on February 25, 2014.
Facilities Evaluation
Tetra Tech performed a facilities assessment of the Clyde Brown Elementary School and the Millis Middle/High School. A team of architects and engineers met with District staff, toured each school, and developed an interactive master planning spreadsheet that identifies future maintenance and capital improvement work at both CFB and the Middle School/High School. This listing outlines priorities at both schools, timeline for completion and estimated costs of each to complete. The Tetra Tech Study has given the Millis Schools great visibility into the estimated costs of simply repairing the needs of the schools. These costs do not address expansion to solve the issues with overcrowding.
Enrollment Projections
As part of the Tetra Tech Study enrollment projections were evaluated. The projections indicate that the student enrollment in the Millis schools will decline slightly over the next decade. This decline will start in the Elementary grades, and then migrate up through the Middle School/High School levels. The projected student enrollment decrease will ease some of the current space utilization issues; however it will not be enough to relieve the overcrowding that exists in the schools.
While the population in both schools is projected to decline modestly in the coming years, this alone will not be enough to ease the overcrowding. In order to successfully maximize educational programming for Millis students, additional space needs to be constructed within the district.