A comprehensive report released by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau puts the spotlight on efforts made to improve school buildings and structures in Worcester
WORCESTER—The city’s slated to spend just over $100 million on schools in FY2024, according to a report recently released by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau.
The detailed report outlines a comprehensive plan aimed at leveraging state and local partnerships, enhancing municipal investments, and revisiting the District’s 2017 Facilities Master Plan to feed the effort to update, repair, or replace the ailing buildings that house Worcester’s young students.
“From an analysis standpoint, the city of Worcester should be commended so well,” Paul Matthews, executive director and CEO Of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, told the Worcester Guardian.
“As a matter of fact, we’ve had $580 million in school construction [so far].”
Worcester Public Schools continues to collaborate with local and state officials and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to revamp its aging infrastructure to meet modern educational needs.
“Districts that serve more socio-economically disadvantaged students tend to benefit more from facilities investments, experiencing larger increases in both test scores and housing prices,” said Matthews, “and WPS serves more than 24,000 students with diverse needs, including economically disadvantaged students, English as a second language learners, and those with disabilities. It’s one of the largest districts in the state and there are very significantly sized populations of economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities.”
The superintendent of Worcester Public Schools, Dr. Rachel Monárrez, emphasized that the facility improvement requires “all around funding.”
We have nearly 50 buildings that are very old,” said Monárrez. “That’s a lot of work to do. There is a lot of beautiful architecture in Worcester [schools], but maintaining them is important, and that costs money.”
The WRRB report, called “Building Our Future: Investing in Worcester Public Schools Facilities” highlights specific investments in school facilities, details the funding used or needed, construction timelines, and comparison to similar-sized municipalities.
Of the $100.5 million, $53.9 million for the school infrastructure strategy comes in the form of borrowed funds, $36.6 million from the MSBA, and $10 million allocated by the city from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The vast majority of this school-related borrowing represents the city’s contribution to MSBA projects, which totals $48.5 million.
This includes $1.7 million for Worcester Arts Magnet School’s roof replacement and $46.8 million for the Doherty High School. Notably, the much-anticipated construction of the new Doherty should conclude this summer, with students expected to start attending in the fall of 2024.
Approved in 2017, the Doherty construction project was estimated to cost $293 million, but the rising cost of materials led to budget overruns, and in 2022, the city manager secured a $23 million loan order to help with the escalating price tag. The final total climbed to an estimated $314 million. The MSBA is contributing $35.3 million to the Doherty build.
At the end of 2023, the MSBA Board of Directors voted to approve Burncoat High School into the Feasibility Study phase, which clarified the project’s scope. The move was a big win for proponents of the Burncoat rebuild since there were previously 13 Statements of Interest (SOIs) rejected over the past 15 years. WPS is engaged in ongoing conversations with the MSBA to determine if Burncoat Middle School will be included in the project’s scope since the two schools share the same premises and are interconnected facilities, “which makes including both a natural consideration.”
“I am thrilled that Burncoat High School has been accepted into the MSBA project pipeline,” Mayor Joseph Petty said in a statement shortly after the approval in December 2023. “This is a significant first step toward a vitally important project for the Worcester Public Schools. A modernized school facility will only enhance educational opportunities and foster a more prosperous future for generations of students.”
This would mark the fourth school in the district to be rebuilt since 2011, if the city, MSBA, and district decide to move forward. Burncoat has suffered from infrastructure issues that have posed safety risks and increased challenges for an effective learning environment for many years.
“The school’s accreditation was put at risk due to these concerns,” the report states.” In December 2023, the school’s heat pump failed, causing a one-day closure. In September, a three-day heatwave caused a three-hour early dismissal. Burncoat’s acceptance into the MSBA pipeline is a long-awaited accomplishment that signals the end of the City and District’s efforts to rebuild each high school.”
Notably, the lack of HVAC systems is not unique to Burncoat. This is a nationwide issue that more frequently hurts urban districts with old buildings.
“The report lays out the significant commitment the City and WPS have made since 2006 to replace all the city’s High Schools,” said Matthews, “starting with Worcester Tech, which was carried out over several Superintendents, City Managers, City Councils, and School Committees. “
The city indicates that it is focused on local school facilities spending, including the allocation of new tax growth for maintenance and safety audits, and shows a dedication to ensuring that school buildings are safe, efficient, and conducive to learning. The plan moving forward is to focus on equitable resource allocation and the correlation between facility conditions and student demographics.
In late 2023, Worcester allocated $1 million in local surplus tax revenues for school facilities maintenance. The district also added a section devoted to school facilities as part of its five-year Strategic Plan, which Dr. Rachel Monárrez, the Worcester Public Schools superintendent, outlined in her presentation to the Worcester community in late January.
“What we’re working on is making sure we’re working with our city,” Monárrez said. “One of our goals is to have a master plan for facilities that will not only encompass public schools but will consider the entire city. We have to be very thoughtful in this work, as there’s only so much money to go around.”
There has been a significant amount of evidence suggesting that these safe school facilities lead to a more effective learning environment for students. In a study titled, “What Works and For Whom? Effectiveness and Efficiency of School Capital Investments Across the U.S.,” evidence showed a positive impact that capital investments into facilities have on both student test scores and housing prices. In addition, districts that serve more socio-economically disadvantaged students benefit more from these facility investments, as evidenced by test scores and housing prices, the report emphasized.
According to the report, this investment in the city’s educational infrastructure not only aims to enhance the learning experience for current students but also to lay a solid foundation for future generations, ensuring that Worcester remains competitive and thrives as a city of educational excellence. Matthews also emphasized that this project is “enormously deliberative, documentative, and there’s a huge series of requirements.”
Since WRRB is an independent nonprofit, the report was done independently of the Worcester Public Schools and the city. Matthews attended the Worcester City Council meeting on Tuesday, March 13, to enter it into record and consideration by an appropriate standing committee.
Likewise, Matthews said it has been provided to the Worcester School Committee, which hasn’t met since the report was released. The city manager and superintendent have received the report as well, with Monárrez and Matthews on a Zoom panel that was convened by the Worcester Education Collaborative.
Although Worcester has come up with ways to improve school buildings over the past decade, additional support is needed from state and federal governments. As the report illuminates, urban districts like Worcester have many more students than suburban districts, therefore more schools that require funding to continue operating at a high level.
As the report notes, compared with other Massachusetts cities, “between 2011 and 2021, Worcester accumulated a noteworthy total of 31 accelerated repair projects, solidifying its position as the highest recipient among selected gateway cities for these urgent repairs, and only second to Boston across the state. Over the same period, the district also secured the third-highest count of core projects, totaling three.”
Of particular importance, stressed Matthews, is the need for objective, fact-based, and transparent decision-making on school renovation and reconstruction, which echoes the previous WPS facility plan, which pointed to consolidation needs being part of the discussion.
The report’s “recommendations” states, “The state should explore innovative solutions to generate funds for core and accelerated projects, mirroring the creativity of municipal policymakers, who leverage tax surpluses and other financial strategies to address these needs amidst budget constraints.”
