Clarksburg Officials Debate Need for School Repairs, Renovations
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Select Board member Colton Andrews stands next to a bucket catching leaks as he talks to the joint gathering.
"We can't say that because it hasn't even been put out to the town," said School Committee member Cynthia Brule. "So I mean, we could say, 'yeah, I want a new school,' but it means nothing."
The comments had come during a joint meeting of the Select Board and School Committee last week over what to do with the leaking roof.
"We're dealing with a pretty leaky roof that's affecting several classrooms," said Superintendent John Franzoni. "The leaks are continuing and impacting the classroom learning."
Select Board Chair Robert Norcross had pushed for the committee to make a declaration after talks with the governor's Western Mass office over the lingering $500,000 in a bond bill for the roof.
He and Assistant Superintendent Tara Barnes had spoken with Kristen Elechko, Western Mass regional director, he said, and Barnes had mentioned the school could use more than a roof.
"Kristen sent me an email the next day saying that I can't go for a roof if we're going to go for a new school or if we're going to go for something bigger," Norcross said. "You have to decide quickly what we want to do, because all these deadlines are coming up. So that's why I wanted to push the meeting forward and that's why I asked the Finance Committee and the Select Board to be here, because we got to make a decision tonight."
Standing next to a bucket catching drips from the ceiling, Select Board member Colton Andrews advocated for a new school, believing the demographics have changed and there are more parents will support it.
"The town has one true, true asset, and we're standing in it," he said. "And the problem is the can has been kicked down the road for years and years and years and like everything else, if we want to have nice things ... you have to pay for them."
People don't like taxes, he acknowledged, but "I think the problem is it's like we're hoping for the best outcome of this situation, but not being realistic with the path forward of what it's really going to be."
Others in the crowded classroom were doubtful the town would back another try for a new school. A $19 million renovation and addition went down to defeat in 2017 and construction costs have risen dramatically since.
"It was a tough thing, and it really split this town for quite a while. I don't think those feelings have gone away for a lot of people, and it's unfortunate," said School Committee member Mary Giron. "I wish we could get the people at the town to back us. I don't think it's going to happen, and I understand we have more people in town that have a vested interest in the school ...
"Not all of not all of the parents will vote, just because sometimes money is a factor for them, more so than the thought of the school."
Giron said she strongly believed a project would be defeated again "and I don't want to miss a chance to maybe go the accelerated route for repairs, where that might be something that they would swallow."
Resident Sarah Hurlbut pointed to all the other problems the town has to deal with — water, sewer, roads, bridges. Another concern, she said, was maintaining a new building with modern conveniences — who's paying the specialists to keep the systems working?
"I think if the town were smart, they'd start thinking about capital planning [Norcross noted the town had received a planning grant]. And the point is, you got to go slowly. You heard Tom [Bona] say we've had engineering reports and the bones are good, great. Let's start fixing stuff," she said.
"What really makes the school are the teachers and how the kids are treated ... It's nice to have a new building ... but we are all taxed out."
The Massachusetts School Building Authority's accelerated repair program provides reimbursement for windows, heating systems and roofs. But it's been wary of spending taxpayer dollars on buildings it's deemed not up to standard, like Clarksburg School.
Select Board member Daniel Haskins thought it worth applying to the accelerated program and look at numbers for a renovation. But School Committee members said the roof had to be a priority now — waiting to be invited into the program could take years.
Incoming Town Administrator Ronald Boucher said the leaks were a health hazard and should be dealt with as soon as possible. He recommended a short-term borrowing as had been done while he was on the Select Board in 2019. The town had approved borrowing $1 million with half going to roads and the other half to address immediate needs at the school. It was paid off in five years.
"As for the rest of the project, I think you have to do it in stages. You've got to take care of the roof, and the foundation, those are the most important things, the other stuff, we can put a plan together and renovate," he said.
Franzoni recommended language to the state saying the town stood behind the school and that there would be discussions over long term plans.
The main thing officials and residents wanted to avoid was sending the town's children to be educated in North Adams, describing it as the "worst outcome."
"I want to see a school here in Clarksburg," said Bona, who has volunteered hours to the repairs and improvements at the school. "Or I wouldn't have spent the last five years doing the work that I've been doing. ....
"I don't think the town is going to go for a new school ... I think we should go for a renovation project, but I think we should put a vote soon later to the town to see what the town will actually approve. Do we say we vote for new school? We vote for a renovation of the old school? Or do we vote for sending the kids to North Adams."
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