The Select Board and School Committee have both unanimously approved a one-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) allowing the Recreation Department to use the Clarke School to expand programming for children and adults.

Located at 100 Middlesex Ave., the Clarke School closed as an elementary school after the 2023–24 school year, following the consolidation of the town’s three elementary schools into one. Recreation Director Charlotte Daher de Garcia and Facilities Director Max Kasper outlined to town boards the opportunities the Clarke School could provide, which Daher de Garcia called a “missing part” of Swampscott. According to Kasper, the School Committee approved use of the Clarke School last year, but the Select Board did not.

“It’s just about investing in our existing space that we have in town, which in turn really is an investment in our community,” Daher de Garcia told the Select Board on Wednesday. “It’s preserving a town asset for the people of Swampscott, not an outside tenant…It would allow me to expand affordable year-round programs for residents of all ages and abilities, and I really feel very strongly about all ages and abilities. I am very focused on making sure we have programs from toddlers all the way up to seniors to complement – it’s not to replace – what the Senior Center does but also to be inclusive with abilities.”

Daher de Garcia said the Clarke School will offer both indoor and outdoor space for recreation. She outlined potential programs ranging from sports, STEM, art, Dungeons & Dragons, and nature activities for youth to fitness, cooking, and creative workshops for adults. Intergenerational options could include mahjong, painting, and knitting, along with adaptive sports, sensory arts, and community volunteering for inclusive engagement.

“There’s lots of things that we can do within the space,” Daher de Garcia said. 

The town will cover utility costs for the Clarke School through the Recreation Department’s revolving fund, according to an October presentation. Kasper and Daher de Garcia said utility costs totaled $36,952 in fiscal year 2025, when the building was vacant, compared to $48,279 in fiscal 2024, when it was partially in use.

Daher de Garcia previously said this would not “strap my budget down to zero.” There is currently $276,978 in the Recreation Department’s revolving fund. 

Kasper did add Wednesday night that the “building has needs” for some repairs but “there’s nothing that’s stopping us from occupying it immediately.” Daher de Garcia said the space “just needs a thorough cleaning.”

“Most of the classrooms are empty, like a blank canvas,” Daher de Garcia said. “The gym, we may need to look at, especially for indoor pickleball we don’t want people to slip.”

This year, the school budget did not include a line item for utility costs at Clarke School, according to Superintendent Jason Calichman. He said the hope was for the Recreation Department to take control of the building or for an outside agency to be interested in the facility.

The School Department has covered the building’s utility costs for the past five months.

“It would create revenue to offset that $48,000 in utilities that is expected of it,” Daher de Garcia said.

Garcia added that the average program currently is seeing a profit of around $200 to $400 while some like skiing trips make a higher profit and others with outside vendors don’t make much. If the program was to host three to four programs per week, Daher de Garcia said the Clarke School would be self-generating the money needed.

“Recreation is not about making a profit. There are programs where we make zero money off of,” Daher de Garcia said. “There are events we host in town where we put money into because we feel very strongly about them, but this is just to think of how we pay for those utilities.”

She also mentioned a sponsorship opportunity for flyers, decals and newsletters.

Kasper did note to the School Committee on Thursday that the Recreation Department’s use of the Clarke School “probably wouldn’t generate as much of an income as an outside vendor would” but that it could be good for the town.

“I agree, and it’s very nice to have people utilize the building as well,” School Committee Member Suzanne Wright said about the importance of the Recreation Department’s use for the overall town.

There will also be a cost savings to the town because the School Department’s insurance price raises for vacant buildings. The price of the policy for the Clarke School, which will go under the town’s regular insurance for buildings, will decrease, according to Cheryl Herrick Stella, the assistant superintendent of finance and operations.

Select Board Vice Chair Doug Thompson called the Clarke program “like a small business.”

“There’s not a person in this community that this doesn’t touch,” said Select Board Member Danielle Leonard. “From children, to adults, to seniors, to inclusive programming, every single person in this town has the ability to benefit from what you presented. To me, that speaks volumes.”

Leonard mentioned how Daher de Garcia’s plans are also inline with the Community Life Center Feasibility Study Task Force’s hopes and approach for a multigenerational community center.

To assist with all of the potential programming, Daher de Garcia mentioned that there is an open position for an assistant recreation director. 

“That person would help me exclusively with programming,” Daher de Garcia said.