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Voters will decide on a $19 million school renovation and addition project on Wednesday.

Clarksburg to Decide School Project Borrowing Wednesday

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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The plans for the school would add on a gym and science and music room, seen to the image's left, and rebuild the 1970s wing on the right. 
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Voters will decide on Wednesday whether to move forward with a $19 million project to modernize the 50-year-old elementary school — and take on the 40 years of debt that go with it. 
 
A special town meeting is being held on Wednesday, Sept. 27, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the school to vote on two articles.  You must be present to vote at special or regular town meetings because articles can be amended or passed over on the floor.
 
The first would authorize the town to appropriate, borrow or transfer funds of $19,097,075 for the renovation and addition. The Massachusetts School Building Authority requires towns to commit to the entire amount of a project but its Board of Directors voted to approve a grant of up to $11,360,552 million toward eligible costs, or 65 percent.
 
The town would be responsible for $7,736,523 that would cover its share of the eligible costs, for items not included such as site work over 8 percent, and for relocating students. A section of the question limits the borrowing to a set amount (expected to be $500,000 for bidding and bidding documents) until the town is approved for a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan in the new year.
 
The borrowing requires a two-thirds vote of voters present at the town meeting and is contingent on the passage of a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion. 
 
The exclusion is the second question on the town meeting warrant; it would have to pass at town meeting and by ballot at the general election on Nov. 7 to become effective.  
 
 
The debt exclusion would remove the borrowing from the constraints of Proposition 2 1/2, which limits the amount a municipality can tax residential property. According to the state Department of Revenue, the town is about to hits its levy ceiling but does have override capacity. The town also has about $83,000 in debt falling off before the first payments are due. 
 
However, the 40-year-loan will mean annual payments of around $350,000, depending on the final interest rate obtained through USDA's Rural Development. 
 
The ability of the town to pay that bill has more than a few residents worried. At $3.25 per assessed $1,000 valuation, the tax rate would be pushed to more than $19 this year. That's not taking into account future, inevitable, increases to cover fixed and capital costs and employment benefits in the town and school budgets. 
 
Finances also have been a sore point over the years as errors and miscalculations and questionable practices have played havoc with budgeting, forcing unexpected cuts and higher rates and penalties. The town hired a new accountant and treasurer last year.
 
At the same time, many argue that a new school building could prompt growth or at least attract families to move to the small town. It has next to no industry, little room for growth and relies heavily on its residential tax base. 
 
While enrollment was calculated by the MSBA at 150 at least for the next few years, the Level 1 school has another 55 students through school choice and a waiting list.
 
The plan approved by the MSBA would renovate and upgrade the 1950s and 1960s sections of the school, tear down and rebuild the 1970s wing, and add on a middle school-size gymnasium, music and science rooms. The new school 38,000-square-foot school would have space for a preschool and special education programming, be up to code on mechanicals and safety, and be fully compliant with handicapped accessibility laws. 
 
An estimated $11 million would be required to just renovate the school, according to the project's designers Jones-Whitsett Architects. It wasn't clear if the MSBA would help fund such a renovation since it does not address the space issues central to the education plan submitted by the school district. School officials have also stressed that the boiler system is on its last leg and must be replaced at an estimated $1 million.
 
The town and School Building Committee have hosted four public information sessions, with three of those over the last three weeks. They've attracted about 60 or 70 people out of the town's more than 1,100 registered voters. 
 
This vote also is unusual in that neither the Select Board nor Finance Committee are making any recommendations for or against the funding article. Two members of the Select Board have voiced both their support for the school and their financial concerns related to the borrowing. There has been no Finance Committee for nearly a year.
 
Town Administrator Carl McKinney said on Monday that town leaders have met with the finance team and will have more numbers ready to share at Wednesday's special town meeting.
 
Moderator Bryan Tanner said last week that the special town meeting vote will be done by secret ballot because of the "magnitude of the issue." He does not expect much discussion because residents had a chance to ask questions and debate during the past three public forums. 
 
"In my many years as moderator, I can say we've never had a more crucial vote, and I've never had a more expensive vote as a warrant article," he said. 

Clarksburg Special Town Meeting Warrant 09/27/17 by iBerkshires.com on Scribd


Tags: Clarksburg school project,   special town meeting,   

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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
 
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said. 
 
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said. 
 
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
 
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
 
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
 
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax. 
 
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