21-05-2025
Parts of Harwich, Chatham middle school are rotting. Will towns pay share of $11.5M fix?
HARWICH — Town meeting voters overwhelmingly supported spending about $9 million to replace leaky windows and siding at Monomoy Regional Middle School.
The siding and windows need to be replaced to stop water from damaging the building's interior and creating poor indoor air quality, according to school officials.
During public comment, two Monomoy Regional Middle School seventh-graders addressed the voters and urged them to vote yes.
"These are crucial updates because they will help protect our building from weather, especially water. In just a year, we plan to do the roof as well," said student Maggie Braz. "And keeping water out is a huge priority. Water can cause serious damage including mold which can cause students and teachers to get sick."
On Monday night, voters gathered for town meeting at Harwich Community Center on Oak Street to tackle the 57-article warrant. Town meeting continues on Tuesday night.
Chatham residents also have to vote at their town meeting, which is Saturday, May 10, to approve the work. The project is subject to a Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion vote on the ballot for both towns' upcoming elections.
School officials have said the repairs are needed for the school because pine trim around windows and the entire building is deteriorating and creating openings for rain, plywood sheathing is rotting in some places, and rotting cedar drip edges no longer keep water out.
"The project initially was simply to replace the siding but as we looked into the project, there's a lot more damage, especially around windows, not only to the siding but to the sheathing underneath the siding, the shingles, and the framing around the windows," said Edward McManus, co-chair of the Monomoy Middle School siding project building committee, to town meeting.
The school is on Crowell Road in Chatham.
Work could begin in early 2026 if approved at both town meetings and elections and following the procurement process.
The total project will cost $11.5 million and will be proportionally split between the towns of Chatham and Harwich. In 2024, Harwich and Chatham approved $2.5 million to pay for work on the the remaining cost is $9,007,030. Harwich's share of the project will be $6,918,300 and Chatham will pay $2,088,730.
Taxpayers in the towns pay for capital projects at the middle and high school levels, according to the Monomoy Regional Agreement. The regional agreement says that capital projects at the middle and high school are split proportionally based on the enrollment ratio of students living in Harwich and Chatham in grades 5 through borrowing for the middle school siding and windows is spread over 25 years, the average impact on a home in Harwich would be about $58 per year and the impact on the average home in Chatham would be approximately $16 per year, according to preliminary estimates. Borrowing for the subsequent middle school roofing project would add about $20 per year to a Harwich tax bill and about $6 to a Chatham tax bill.
In the second phase, the project will include the replacement of the school's roof.
With the exception of the areas replaced in 2018 after significant storm damage, the middle school roof was last replaced in 1997. This project will be submitted for approval at town meetings in 2026.
The total project cost is estimated to be $8.5 million with a state MSBA Accelerated Repair reimbursement of 37%, which is not available for siding projects. About $5.3 million will be proportionally split between Chatham and Harwich.
Business manager Michael MacMillan said he believes an entire new school could cost more than $150 million.
In other business during town meeting, Harwich voters passed the $48 million operating budget for fiscal year 2026 and $125,000 to cover anticipated expenses of the Harwich Home Rule Charter Commission.
Voters also voted to spend $35 million to implement parts of the town's Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan to build sewers in the Great Sand Lakes area (Bucks Pond, John Joseph Pond, Kiddies Pond and Sand Lake). The borrowing is contingent on the passage of a Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion vote at the May 20 town election.
According to the town warrant, the proposed wastewater collections system will protect from the potential for nutrients to leach from the septic systems into the freshwater ponds, harming pond water quality.
The town is eligible to seek reimbursement of some loan costs as well as 0% to 2% interest loans from the Clean Water Trust and State Revolving Fund, according to the warrant.
Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@ Follow her on X @zanerazz.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Monomoy Middle School repair: Harwich town meeting approved. Now what?
