The new Chilmark preschool will not be ready for the start of the 2025-2026 school year as previously planned, potentially forcing changes at the Chilmark elementary school. 

Because of the delay, the preschool students will have to remain in the nearby Chilmark School. Chilmark School principal Kate Squire told the select board Tuesday that the tentative plan is to request the use of the Chilmark Community Center four days a week for the elementary school so that the preschool students can remain in their current location within the Chilmark School. 

Currently, the Chilmark School uses the community center three days a week for classes such as instrumental lessons and gym.

“The reasoning behind this is that if the preschool were to move to the CCC, they have lots of large equipment that would be very difficult to move in and out of that lobby,” Ms. Squire said. “But if the school uses that space, we can roll in and out on carts day by day, and it will be much easier to free up that space on Fridays and on the weekends for events.”

Construction of the new preschool was approved by voters at the annual town meeting in 2023. Last January, the lease of a plot of town owned land was approved at a special town meeting. Final project plans were approved by the select board over the summer. 

According to Ms. Squire, a formal document of the preschool’s plans for the upcoming school year will be presented back to the select board next month.

Ms. Squire has been in collaboration with select board member Marie Larsen, Linda Coutinho of the Chilmark Community Center Moderator’s Committee and chair of the preschool board Rebecca Thompson and Anja May, director of the preschool, to discuss how to move forward while the new school is being built. 

“It’s a lot to ask the school to move all their special [classes] over, but it is the best for all the kids in town,” Ms. Larsen said.