The ConVal School Board voted Tuesday to drop a proposed bond for renovations to the Region 14 CTE Center and the high school by a vote of 9-1, with only Janine Lesser of Peterborough voting to bring the bond forward in a March warrant article.
“It’s back to the drawing board,” said Jim Fredrickson, school representative from Sharon and chair of the Budget and Property Committee. “We will come up with another plan to upgrade our CTE.”
At the last school board meeting in December, the board had voted to a defer plans to renovate the Lucy Hurlin Theatre, which had originally been considered for renovations at the same time as the CTE project. At a community forum in December hosted by the School Board, dozens of residents expressed concern at the bond proposal, given the jump in tax bills in all nine of ConVal’s towns.
The total cost of the proposed CTE/high school renovation project was estimated at approximately $33.48 million. The board estimated that state funding, based on historical funding records, would have been approximately $14.73 million, leaving roughly $18.75 million to be covered by a district bond.
According to numbers presented at the CTE project community forum in December, if voters had approved the renovations to the CTE and high school (not including the theater), the tax impact on households would have averaged about $200 a year for a home worth $500,000.
According to Fredrickson, the architectural plans for the project completed by Lavallee Brensinger, which cost about $250,000, included comprehensive structural and systems review for ConVal, Great Brook Middle School and South Meadow School.
“These funds were not wasted, and these plans were not wasted,” Fredrickson said. “We spent a lot of time looking at what the middle schools will need down the road as well as what the high school needs. It’s really a modernization project for the schools; teachers don’t teach they same way they did when the classrooms were built. We now have a comprehensive inspection of every structural system in all three buildings –electrical, plumbing, HVAC – which we will need when we look at the needs of the district going forward.”
The renovation project would have included adding new program areas to the CTE, including veterinary care, health care and metallurgy, areas which were recommended by an advisory board comprised of local industry leaders. Renovations to the high school would have included reconfiguring and repurposing classrooms to shift the special education core, grouping CTE classes together and creating an “arts wing” promoting collaboration between the CTE and art classes.
The old CTE wing would have been demolished and replaced by a new CTE wing.
High school renovations also included the creation of a single, secure front entryway, which was recommended by the Center for Homeland Security. Renovations would have also increased accessibility to the building and increased natural light to the portions of the high school which are underground.
“This is just bad timing. With the theater taken out of consideration, the plan should be modified to enhance CTE opportunities, but not at this cost,” said Jim Kingston, School Board representative from Temple.
“Some of the renovations need to be done regardless of the bond, including modernization of the CTE and significant improvements and changes to the high school,” Fredrickson said.
The board will revisit options for upgrading the CTE in 2025.
Collective bargaining agreement ratified
Fredrickson reported that after lengthy discussions with the ConVal Education Association, the district’s negotiation team reached an agreement with union representatives. The negotiation process started in July.
“We’re very grateful to our negotiation team,” Fredrickson said. “There were long hours spent on this.”
The board voted to approve a two-year collective bargaining agreement reached with the CVEA. The agreement will appear on a warrant article at the March elections.
Fredrickson said Wednesday morning that he had spoken with Greg Leonard, lead CVEA negotiator again on Tuesday.
“We consider this a win-win. We’re very happy with it,” Fredrickson said.
District to lose $175,000 in special education funding
Curtis Hamilton, school board representative from Greenfield who serves on the Select Board Advisory Committee, reported that district stands to lose $175,000 in special education funds in 2025 due to planned reductions in state funding. The amount represents one-third of the total the district spent on special education last year.
“Our spending on special education will not decrease by one-third, as services are mandated by state and federal law, but these unfunded mandates place a heavy burden on the district,” Hamilton said.
Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut announced the cuts to local special education funding in November. The board supported Hamilton’s proposal to draft a letter to the district’s state representatives and to ask them to reconsider the cuts. Hamilton said he will also prepare a tax impact document for the board.
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