Facilities Director Max Kasper presented options for the nearly vacant Clarke School to the Select Board on Tuesday, as the Housing Authority appealed for support in repurposing the space.

The Clarke School, at 100 Middlesex Ave., ceased operating as an elementary school at the end of the 2023–24 school year, following the consolidation of the town’s three elementary schools into a single facility. The Clarke School is currently under the control of the School Department. 

“There’s been a lot of discussion over the years of what the next use of the Clarke School would be,” Kasper said. “The consensus internally within the town and school is to retain control of the Clarke School in the immediate term for potential reduction by the school in three to five years.”

Kasper noted that the Clarke School may serve as vital “swing space” during future middle school renovations.

“That’s obviously a little bit far out. There’s a lot of things that need to happen,” Kasper said. “But we saw with the elementary school how critical it was to have some swing space to be able to successfully implement that project, and I think there’s a likelihood that Clarke could be a very useful building for us in the future.” 

A similar presentation was given to the School Committee on June 12. At the June meeting, Kasper added that although the building is mostly unused, it continues to incur utility and maintenance costs.

School Committee Member Miguel Contreras had suggested using the building as a teen center or a multi-use area.

Select Board Member Mary Ellen Fletcher made a similar suggestion during the Tuesday Select Board meeting.

“You hear the recreation director was constantly saying how there’s not enough space in town, and you also heard from the senior center director that there’s not enough space in town. They’re thinking about putting out an RFP to build a new community center,” Fletcher said. “Just wondering if we’re going to revisit that at all as far as using that (Clarke School) as a community center.”

Kasper said the conversation did happen, but it did not work out. Housing Authority has been asked to have this conversation “for a while,” according to Select Board Vice President Doug Thompson.

“We really thought recreation and potentially the senior center was going to use it, and for a variety of reasons, that didn’t come to fruition, and that’s kind of why we’re back to this option,” Kasper said.

Charles Patsios, the chair of the Housing Authority, said that the school is an “opportunity” for public housing in the town, which he said is desperately needed. He called the chance to move housing and potentially the senior center into the Clarke School “a dream.”

Select Board Member David Grishman did agree with Patsios that the town “is in crisis.”

“We’ve talked a lot about housing in the town of Swampscott, but what have we actually done about it?” Patsios asked. “We’re here to ask that you fund the schools appropriately, at the same time, if we take the Clarke School and look at an RFP from another school district at a time when we’re in crisis in the town of Swampscott…Please hear the voices of the people who haven’t been heard. We can’t do it alone…We can’t neglect our seniors.”

Patsios said that if the Clarke School was to be redeveloped for senior housing, the town would be reimbursed on a federal level. It would be a higher reimbursement rate than the state system.

He also added that if the senior center was moved to the now-Clarke School, the current senior center could be used as the “swing space” for the middle school.

Currently, the Clarke School is being used primarily as storage space for various town departments.

“It’s been mostly vacant this year,” Kasper said. “There’s been some limited use.”

Big Blue Bargains thrift store moved into the building, and storage has been held on the top floor. The Recreation Department is also “using the building quite heavily on the first floor,” according to Kasper. 

Kasper did acknowledge that the building is “predominantly sitting at this point.”

“That’s not a good thing, so we are recommending that we look to lease the building on a relatively short term, probably a three-year lease,” Kasper said. 

Kasper said a lease would require a formal request for proposals (RFP), which would be issued by the Select Board, despite the building still being under the School Department’s control.

“Because it is a lease of real property, that does need to be done through the Select Board,” Kasper said.