Utica OKs modular classrooms for Waltham

Utica has given Waltham Elementary School the OK to launch a temporary expansion.

On Thursday, the Utica Village Board approved a rezoning and variances requested by Waltham Elementary on land being acquired. The district is acquiring four modular units, leased for 36 months, to ease a space crunch.

Waltham’s enrollment has fluctuated but spiked in recent years thanks to an influx of younger families. The student body sits at 256, already past capacity, and the district expects a large incoming pre-kindergarten class.

Waltham Elementary’s lawyer, Chicago attorney Ken Florey, said the board envisions a permanent annex and at some point will go to voters with a referendum to fund an expansion.

“And if the addition doesn’t happen,” Waltham Superintendent Kristi Eager said, “we’ll bring in additional [modular] units.”

The Utica Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezoning and variances.

“I see this as a big plus for Utica,” planning commissioner Doug Gift said.

The Utica Village Board, which convened for a special meeting, readily adopted the recommendations (Trustee Pete Pawlak was absent) governing modular units.

Village trustees did, however, signal some disapproval about the prospect of a referendum (and a tax increase), even if the vote is at least three years away. There were a few scattered “no” votes on variances sought for the future expansion – nothing that thwarts the temporary expansion – with Trustee Jim Schrader saying he was “dumbfounded” that a five-year-old school needs an expansion.