Fort Meadow pre-school students sang songs from their weekly music program, to start off the School Committee meeting on Monday, (Photo submitted)
WESTFIELD – On Monday, the School Committee voted to approve the Statement of Interest (SOI) from Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for renovations and an addition to the Franklin Avenue Elementary School for the reason of overcrowding.
Westfield Public Schools CFO Ronald R. Rix said the district is looking to make extensive renovations in partnership with the MSBA, following a feasibility study that will be done on whether an addition to house 100 to 120 students will make it large enough to house a total of 320 students.
The SOI will also be voted on by the City Council at its next meeting on April 5, and is due to the MSBA by April 5.
School Committee member Ramon Diaz, Jr. asked whether the plan would also include new electrical and asbestos abatement.
Rix said this is the first step of the process. “Should we get accepted, we will work with the MSBA, and look at whether to level the building or renovate and put an addition on it,” Rix said. He said it has a relatively new roof and windows, and the electrical, HVAC, asbestos abatement and boilers would all be a part of the project.
School Committee member Cindy Sullivan said the feasibility study would also decide if this would be the best location for a new elementary school. “Everything is back on the table,” Sullivan said.
Both made the point that the consideration of Franklin Avenue was only made possible by the redistricting, and moving 275 to 300 students out of fifth grade into the middle schools. “It made sense to start from scratch, based on the work we’ve done,” Sullivan said, adding, “The downtown kids need an updated school.”
The plan for a new school downtown includes closing Abner Gibbs Elementary School, which is over 100 years old and not handicap accessible, and would look at accommodating those students as well as the students in Franklin Avenue at the school.
School Committee vice-chair Kevin Sullivan said the feasibility study would also have to look at traffic patterns at Franklin Avenue, and the proximity of the school to the Armory and the dyke.
School Committee member Timothy O’Connor asked about the MSBA timeline for the project, after the due date of April 6. Rix said the MSBA has a meeting scheduled for April 10, but historically they have gotten back to the city in September and October on SOI’s the city has submitted.
Mayor Brian P. Sullivan said the process has been a long one, and included meetings in Boston with the MSBA. He said Westfield is the first community they’ve worked with that had gotten as far as it did in the planning process, and were stopped. Sullivan said the MSBA finally suggested since so much had changed, and much to the positive, they should start over, and strongly pointed to renovating an existing school.
“Maybe that’s the way they’re going these days,” Mayor Sullivan said.
He said the MSBA knows the SOI is coming. “I’m hoping they look favorably at it,” he said. He also said the feasibility may show that the renovations will cost almost as much as a brand new school.
School Committee member Heather Sullivan congratulated everybody for coming back to the table. She said she liked Franklin Avenue’s option, but wondered whether there was a consideration of a possible increase in population over the next ten years.
Rix said that was not part of the plan, and if that were to happen against projections, they would go back to MSBA on an overcrowding issue.
The School Committee also voted to support an SOI for Westfield Technical Academy. Rix said the district also puts in one every year for Westfield High School, but it was ineligible this year, because they had already requested accelerated repair for the roof and new doors.
Rix said the doors at WHS are secure, but they want to add another set of doors for security and for heat. The SOI for Westfield Technical Academy is among other items to improve egress. Rix said they also apply annually for the Technical Academy, but the elementary school project before the MSBA has delayed work on the other schools.
