Selectmen agree to submit middle school SOIs to MSBA

March 2, 2017 | Chris Goudreau
cgoudreau@thereminder.com

Selectmen Richard Foster (right) and Thomas Lachiusa (left) voiced their concerns about the middle school project during the board’s Feb. 27 meeting.
Reminder Publications photo by Chris Goudreau

LONGMEADOW – At its Feb. 27 meeting, the Select Board unanimously agreed to submit a pair of statement of interests (SOI) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for renovations or the construction of new middle schools or the creation of a single unified middle school.

The Select Board initially rejected previous SOIs for Glenbrook and Williams Middle Schools in April 2015. Although the selectmen approved the SOIs this time around, some members of the board did raise some concerns.

Selectman Thomas Lachiusa said he believes the middle school project should not be rushed if the MSBA approves Longmeadow Public Schools for its core-building program. He stated the timeline of five to six years until the project should come to Town Meeting voters for funding should be maintained.

“If efforts are made to rush this project I see that as problematic and may not be fair to the town,” he added. “In point, the [Department of Public Works] (DPW) needs a new facility and if this project were to delay or move ahead of the DPW project.”

Selectman Richard Foster said he also believes the DPW project should be a top priority when competing against other building projects such as a new Adult Center or the middle school project.

“I’m very concerned that we don’t have more buy-in on this project going forward,” he noted. “I know you need 200 signatures, but I think that’s zippo. That’s nothing. We have 11,000 registered voters.”

Foster said he believes the selectman shouldn’t adopt an obstructionist position in regards to the project, but also needs to weigh the needs of the community.

“If there’s a real need it’s not going to take seven years,” he explained. “It’s going to be coming down the pipe pretty quickly. And we have three very critical needs. There’s no doubt about it – the DPW is the highest priority need in this community right now. It is non-repairable. It can’t be fixed and it’s a disgrace. It’s been that way since 1986. For this community to shut their eyes and charge forward the way they did, to me, is an insult to the men and women that do our service work behind the scenes – keep our sewer systems and water systems filtered. We just turned our backs on them.”

Selectman William Low said he believes the timing of the middle school project in regards to competing with the other two building projects is “not good, but it is what it is.”

He added, “I just hope at Town Meeting when we vote to raise funds for a DPW it doesn’t fail because now there’s an SOI. I’m just concerned about the amount of debt.”

The board also approved a joint resolution with the School Committee by a vote of 3 to 1, which emphasized the importance of the middle school project in the town’s long-term plan. Foster voted against the resolution and Selectman Mark Gold was absent from the meeting.

In other business, Superintendent of Schools M. Martin O’Shea presented the school district’s $36.5 million fiscal year 2018 (FY18) budget.

O’Shea said the School Committee voted to approve the school budget on Feb. 7 and it represents a $275,000 increase from the current fiscal year.

He said the budget recommends cutting three full-time equivalent teaching positions due to a decline in enrollment at Williams Middle School.

“We will be able to continue to maintain existing level services, but we believe enrollment patterns don’t really support the retention of these three positions. [They’re] great teachers, they’ve done outstanding work, but the enrollment isn’t there to support the retention of those three positions,” O’Shea said.

The budget also recommends funding improvements to technology in Longmeadow Public Schools, including the purchase of new computers to replace outdated ones, and increased funding for athletics.

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