Southwick asks for grant extension
By HOPE E. TREMBLAY
Staff writer
SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Tolland Granville Regional School District is taking the next step in the process of renovating three of its four schools, since Southwick voters failed to pass a debt exclusion for the project Jan. 31.
The Transitional School Committee last night approved sending a letter to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), a requirement from the state authority that promised a 60 percent reimbursement of the $72 million project. The required letter is supposed to outline the result of votes in all three towns, offer the committee’s understanding of the reason for failure to pass, and give a remedy to the project.
Superintendent Dr. John Barry said the reasons for vote failure stated in the letter include lack of community engagement, scale of project and the “cost was overwhelming.”
As for plans to remedy the project, the letter asks the MSBA for a grant extension in order to pursue the options of bringing the question back for another vote or revising the project.
Committee member George LeBlanc said although Selectman Arthur Pinell said Monday he did not want to put the same project to a second vote, he does not want to lose that option.
“I don’t want to give up on our overall plan,” said LeBlanc. “I still feel the plan we put forth meets the facility needs and the educational needs.”
LeBlanc said the committee needs to address capital needs in the FY13 budget while waiting to hear from the MSBA on whether or not the project can somehow move forward.
“I have the same concerns,” said Tolland committee member Theodore Locke. “We have to start developing a capital plan.”
Locke said if the committee put together the numbers for needed repairs over the next five years “People will see it will cost more than what was just voted down.”
Granville committee member William Stevenson agreed.
“People need to know how much it’s really going to cost,” he said.
The committee fielded questions from more than a dozen audience members, many asking how they can help bring more information on the project to the community, should the MSBA allow an extension.
One resident said while he voted yes, he believes the tone of emails sent from a parent group with the address southwickschools@gmail, was simply not nice. He also said the email address led many people to believe the emails were coming from the school department.
RJ McGivney is a parent who helped organize efforts to promote a yes vote in Southwick, the only of the three towns to vote down the ballot question. He apologized last night for the perceived tone of some of the group’s emails and said the group would be changing its name, and its tone, in future emails.
Barry thanked the parent group for supporting the project and getting the word out because legally, the school department cannot do what they did to encourage voting.
Two residents who voted against the question spoke out during the meeting and voiced their concerns. One man said that he did not know about most of the informational meetings and thinks the committee should have reached out better.
“The more questions I can ask, the more I am apt to change my mind,” he said. “But right now, I’m a no.”
He also suggested, if the project continues, that residents should have more opportunity to ask questions informally, rather than in a forum setting.
Barry said West Springfield held weekly, casual meetings leading up to its project and that is an option. One resident said the committee should go out into the community rather than expect people to come to their meeting.
“Find out when the Grange is having a meeting and ask if two representatives from the school committee can speak,” it was suggested.
Another suggestion was to use YouTube and social media to reach those parents who did not even vote.
A resident against the project said one of the main reasons he and others were against the project is the combined middle/high school.
“A lot of people don’t believe in putting younger kids with older kids,” he said.
Barry said there were several reasons for adding grades seven and eight to the current high school, including the availability of more resources and the option of middle school students joining high school athletic teams.
The committee agreed it needs to host meetings with the select board and finance committee in Southwick and begin moving forward while waiting to hear back from the MSBA.
Hope Tremblay can be reached at [email protected]
