Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District Superintendent Dr. John Barry, second from left, joins a host of local, state, and business officials during a ceremonial groundbreaking in front of the school Thursday. The $70 million makeover will include upgrades to Woodland Elementary School, Powder Mill Middle School, and the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional High School. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
SOUTHWICK – A project that began more than a decade ago came to fruition yesterday at the groundbreaking of the Southwic-Tolland-Granville Regional High School construction project.
School and town officials, as well as staff and students, ceremoniously moved dirt at what will become the new combined middle and high school.
Superintendent John Barry reminded the audience of several dozen people that the project began back in 1996 when concerns about expanding enrollment resulted in the formation of a building committee.
“In 1998 the group (contracted) for a feasibility study and design for a new elementary school,” said Barry.
The group submitted an application to the now defunct School Building Assistance Bureau, but they were told it did not meet their guidelines.
“Then the SBAB was shut down and there was a moratorium on building projects in 2004,” Barry said. “But this community didn’t give up.”
Instead, a plan was devised for the town to incur the cost of the new school. It failed to pass at Town Meeting because residents wanted a funding source.
Then the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) formed and began accepting applications for school renovation and construction projects. In 2008, Southwick’s school building committee applied again.
“In 2010, we learned that Granville wanted to talk about joining the regional district,” Barry said.
The MSBA looked very favorably on the inclusion of Granville and offered additional incentives if Granville joined the district and gave the option of a unique opportunity – to renovate all three schools at the Southwick campus.
After one failed attempt at passing the $70 million project debt exclusion in Southwick, the committee worked with the MSBA to make the project more affordable for taxpayers and it passed at the ballot in all three communities in the regional district.
During yesterday’s ceremony, State Rep. Nicholas Boldyga thanked the numerous people responsible for bringing the project to fruition, including former State Sen. Michael Knapik who was unable to attend the event. He thanked the boards of the three towns and Southwick Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart, whom Boldyga said was “well known as the most revered and knowledgeable administrator this side of 495.”
Boldyga also thanked the voters and taxpayers, as did Southwick Board of Selectmen Chairman Russell Fox. Fox also noted that former selectmen Fred Arnold and Arthur Pinell played a large role in securing favorable votes.
“Were it not for their courage, we would not be here,” Fox said of their open support of the project.
MSBA Deputy Director Barbara Hansberry spoke directly to a group of students at the ceremony yesterday.
“You are lucky,” she said. “Your townspeople believe in you and your leaders believe in you. This community voted to raise its taxes because they believe in you and want to make sure your educational experience is top notch.”
School Committee Chairman James Vincent also thanked everyone who helped the project move forward, including the boards and finance committees of Southwick, Tolland and Granville.
Work began at Woodland Elementary School and Powder Mill Middle School over the summer. The existing high school building will remain intact while the addition of the middle school wing begins this fall.
Detailed information on the project is available on the district website, www.stgrsd.org.
