The Chilmark School needs to remove its bell tower because of the toll it’s taken on the elementary school’s roof.
The up-Island School Committee voted Monday to seek permission to borrow $128,000 to take down the deteriorating tower and reinstall the bell somewhere elsewhere on campus.
Simply replacing the bell tower would cost about $230,000, according to an estimate from the school’s project manager, CHA, last year.
But cost wasn’t the only obstacle, said Mark Friedman, the business affairs manager for all the Island’s public schools.
“The bell tower itself .. is prone to needing a lot more maintenance over the years than having the just regular pitched roof,” Mr. Friedman told the Gazette.
In the past, the tower has suffered from rotting wood, ringing alarms for school committee members.
Town officials have agreed that the best course is to relocate the bell without recreating the tower, Mr. Friedman said.
The actual cost of the work remains unknown, because the district is waiting for estimates from Tappé Architects on two design options: one relocating the bell to the building’s eaves and the other installing it outside on school grounds.
The funding is expected at the Chilmark April 28 annual town meeting. The warrant has not yet been finalized.
The bell tower project is one of several facing the up-Island school district.
The school committee also voted to seek funding for a feasibility study on the West Tisbury School, as well as cash for improvements to the school’s ventilation, heating and air conditioning.
Among other business Monday, the up-Island regional committee voted to continue taking part in the school choice program, which allows K-8 schools across the Vineyard to accept students from other towns if there are available spaces.
West Tisbury committee member Skipper Manter opposed participation, saying the district spends more per student than the $5,000 it receives for each child in open enrollment.
West Tisbury School principal Donna Lowell-Bettencourt defended the practice, saying other sources of funding also are available and that many of her school choice students were formerly district residents.
“Their family has had to move for a variety of reasons, including wonderful opportunities to get affordable housing that come up that are only offered in different towns [by] lottery,” Ms. Lowell-Bettencourt said.
“It is a huge hardship for these families to pass up an affordable housing space, and we’re seeing more and more of our school choice is falling into that [category]” she said.
“This is a way for their children to continue in the district,” Ms. Lowell-Bettencourt said.
Also Monday, school committee chair Jim Newman announced he will not be seeking another term.
“I’ve reached an age and a time where I have to give up public service,” said Mr. Newman, a former Aquinnah selectman and retired teacher.
“I think my time has come to just enjoy,” he said.
