School Committee member Ramon Diaz, Jr., right, questions a school offical during last night's meeting. (Photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
School board approves YMCA lease
By DAN MORIARTY
Staff Writer
WESTFIELD – The School Committee voted to award a lease to the YMCA of Greater Westfield to use school buildings for pre-school and post-school programs last night. The lease of space at six elementary schools will generate $28,000 annually for the School Department.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, who by virtue of his elected office also serves as the School Committee chairman, said the YMCA has had a long informal agreement with the School Department.
“The YMCA is a long-time operator of these programs,” he said. “It started as agreements with individual schools and the programs continued to grow.”
School Committee Vice Chairman Kevin Sullivan said the committee was required to release a request for proposals under state law that initiated the bid process approved Monday night for the YMCA’s preschool and post-school program.
“This was a lease we discussed several months ago,” Sullivan said to the three new School Committee members. “For years we had an agreement to allow the use of several school buildings for the before and after school programs, but we were told that this had to be bid under state requirements (MGL 30-B).”
The lease agreement provides 4,000-square feet of space at Southampton Road Elementary School, Paper Mill Elementary School, Highland Elementary School and Franklin Avenue Elementary School for both preschool and after-school programs. The rent for those four schools is $6,000 per school, annually.
The lease agreement also includes 4,000-square feet of space at the Munger Hill Elementary School and Abner Gibbs Elementary School for preschool programs at a cost of $2,000 annually.
School Committeewoman Cindy Sullivan said that she understands that the district needs to recoup the cost of utilities and custodial services, but would prefer the informal approach of the past.
“I wish we didn’t have to charge them rent,” she said. “We didn’t during all of those years” prior to the formal request for proposals (RFP) process.
The RFP (Number 2288) established criterion for the programs, stating that the primary goal of the district is to provide a safe, secure on-site before-and-after school environment for children and to deliver an enriching, enjoyable program format that blends academics and homework with recreation and arts which best meet the needs of Westfield school children and their families.
Dan Moriarty can be reached at [email protected]
