School Committee argues merits of building project
Published on February 13th, 2002
STONEHAM, MA - In its bid to drum up support for the $6 million warrant article it plans to lay on Town Meeting voters next month, the School Committee invited members of the Board of Selectmen, School Building Committee (SBC) and Finance Board to its meeting last Thursday night and discussed how best to present the hefty request to the people.
Six million dollars is needed to complete the elementary school rebuilding program which began in 1997 with a nearly $40 million appropriation from Town Meeting voters. Now it is clear that initial cost projections were unrealistic with regard to the bid climate that the project has faced in the ensuing years.
In addition, other costs were incurred, such as the $1.2 million it took to clean contamination from the area of the new Central School, which did not meet criteria for 63 per cent state reimbursement.
The $6 million is still an estimate. Until both the Robin Hood and Colonial Park School bids are opened (bid opening is scheduled for Feb. 12 and 26 respectively), a definitive number cannot be determined. A Special Town Meeting is scheduled for March 4.
Although the state reimbursement rate has not kept pace with construction costs, Stoneham does benefit from the earlier than expected reimbursement payment schedule. The town has already begun receiving reimbursement from the South and Central School projects. The first reimbursements were not expected until 2006.
There’s no simple way to explain the numbers, committee members agreed, but in summary, SBC Chairman Dan Hogan said that if the town votes against the $6 million request, the project as a whole stands to lose $9 million in state reimbursement.
Naturally, taxpayers are worried about an increase in their tax bills.
According to Town Accountant Ron Florino, if voters approve the $6 million request, the effect on their tax bill will look like this:
For fiscal year 2003, 28 cents (per $1000 home value) will be added to the residential tax rate. Currently, the projection for fiscal year 2003 calls for $1.28 of the residential tax rate to go to the school building program based on the appropriation of 1997. If the request is approved, the total portion of the residential tax rate going to the school building program will total $1.56.
In other words, for a $250,000 home, approval of the $6 million translates to an additional $70 per year in fiscal year 2003. In fiscal year 2004, this figure rises by another $20, and begins to decline gradually in fiscal year 2005.
School Building Committee member Ron Fiore tried to simplify the meaning of this increase, stating that “it’s less than the cost of a medium pizza each month.”
Some citizens have said that now is not the time to ask taxpayers for more money, that instead the School Committee should build the third school in the project and, after that, see where it stands and what it needs to complete the fourth.
School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Connelly dramatized the effect of not building the Colonial Park School this year. He unrolled the long list of state approved school building projects for this year, a list that totals 248 and stated that another 58 projects were expected to be added in June. Both Robin Hood and Colonial Park Schools are now at the top of that list. If the Colonial Park is not built this year, it will be dropped to the bottom of the list and, according to Connelly, the wait to build it could be eight to 10 years. In addition, the state reimbursement rate is expected to drop from 63 per cent to 57 per cent.
The School Committee also argued that there are nonfinancial reasons for building the Colonial Park School now, such as higher classroom sizes and inequitable school districts.
Committee member Dan Moynihan added that some students have already been redistricted from the Central School into the Colonial Park School. If this school is not built, those same students will have to be redistricted again, resulting in three moves in three consecutive years.
“The effect will be tremendous,” Moynihan said.
“This town committed to $39 million, and now we need to go back and ensure that those kids get exactly what the other two schools have got,” said Vice Chairman Jeanne Craigie. “We can’t not build them. How can we not build and finish the project?”
Committee members also responded to public perception of costly bells and whistles added to the school designs. Fiore said that he understands the concerns but insists that decisions have incorporated neighborhood input and have not been made in a vacuum.
The use of copper in the Central School was possible because at the time, the price for such was not rising as it was for other commodities. In addition, it was considered more attractive and easier to work with.
“It’s my tax money as well as anyone else’s,” Fiore said.
“They (the SBC) have been very frugal and very responsive to the town,” said Connelly, calling the school designs chevrolets, not cadillacs.
If voters approve the request, the Robin Hood contract will be rewarded on March 7 and Colonial Park on March 18. Both construction projects would begin on April 1 with a 16 month construction phase expected for both. According to this plan, the renovated schools will reopen on Sept. 1, 2003.
In other news... the School Committee voted unanimously in favor of dedicating a swing set and bench at the South School to principal Dr. Paula Sline, who was forced to take an early retirement last month due to health issues.
School Committee Chairman Marie Christie praised the South School PTO’s initiative to dedicate something to Sline.
“It’s a wonderful gesture. She loved that school,” Christie said.
South School PTO representative Lisa Gallagher said that a dedication ceremony will likely take place in May.
The School Committee said it will schedule a similar public hearing on March 14 to hear another dedication request. The School Building Committee will ask that the South School gymnasium be dedicated to former School Building Committee member Al Prior, who passed away suddenly last year.
“Al was a very dedicated member of our organization...The School Building Committee felt something should be done to recognize him,” Hogan said.
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