Clarksburg School Project Goes to Vote Next Week
Superintendent Jonathan Lev answers questions at the third and final public information session on Wednesday.
One worries about how the project would drain the town's taxpayers and limit its ability to address its aging infrastructure. The other sees the town's most desirable asset being revamped with state picking up more than half the cost.
The second neighbor got applause at Wednesday's session, which had a tone strikingly different from that of just two weeks ago.
The first public session was filled with angst, as residents tried to wrap their heads around the $7.7 million they would be paying back over the coming decades. The estimated $3.25 it would add to the tax rate for some was a deal breaker. Town officials said they supported the project but urged taxpayers to consider the impact before they voted.
On Wednesday, it seemed that more were willing to take on a burden they believed would benefit the town — and their property values — down the road.
"I went here in the 1950s and somebody was paying taxes to educate me," said Connie Lincoln. Her children later went to the school and now, she said, it was her turn to pay for other children. "For people to move to this town for infrastructure, I don't think so. People move to this town for a school. ...
"Somebody did it for me, somebody did it for my children, and now it's my turn."
The plan approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority would renovate and upgrade the 1950s and 1960s sections of the school, tear down and rebuild the 1970s wing, and add on a middle school-size gymnasium, music and science rooms. The new school would have space for a preschool and special education programming, be up to code on mechanicals and safety, and be fully compliant with handicapped accessibility laws.
The current enrollment is 195, with about 55 of those school choice students. The MSBA, with the state Department of Education, has determined an enrollment of Clarksburg children at 150 that is expected to remain flat for about the next five years.
School officials say to bring the current building just up to standards through piecemeal work would be about $11 million. The heating system is obsolete and at the end of its lifespan and expected to cost $1.1 million to replace; adding in asbestos abatement, plumbing and electrical, the price tag is more than $2.5 million.
The estimated project cost to taxpayers would be about $3.25 on the tax rate on a 40-year U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan. The town is looking at a 40-year loan because it was decided the payments on a 30-year loan would be too onerous. The rate on the loan would be around 3.25 percent to 3.37 percent, based on current figures.
The tax rate $15.85 per $1,000 valuation and is expected to go up 54 cents for fiscal 2018. If the school were added on this year, the tax rate would be about $19.64. Homeowners would see their bills jump about $500, or double that for homes assessed closer to $300,000.
One woman noted that other surrounding towns are already paying nearly that much or more. North Adams was $17.70 last fiscal year; Adams has been projected at $22.20 for this fiscal year.
Clark Rowell of Unibank, the town's bonding agent, again explained that loan could not be confirmed until February, when Rural Development has its budget. But the federal agency seemed confident it would have the money, he said.
The USDA loan would not close until all the project was complete and MSBA had concluded its audit. Until then, the town would borrow through the state to finance construction, with the MSBA reimbursing its portion of $11.3 million as the work progressed.
Taxpayers would begin seeing the impact on their tax bills slowly, with the expectation of $500,000 in borrowing to get through to the bidding stage by next spring. Should the USDA loan fall through, the town would still be on the hook for the inital half-million. The rest of the cost would gradually kick in over the next several years.
Though residents at Wednesday's session seemed to lean toward the project, there were still pointed questions about the impact and the need. Town and school officials had initially pledged to put aside school choice and possible solar array receipts to offset the tax burden but on Wednesday acknowledged that those revenues could not be guaranteed.
"Basically, townspeople told us that pledging funds was a foolish thing to do," said Select Board Chairman Jeffrey Levanos.
Town Administrator Carl McKinney said some of the town's debt would be falling off in the coming years. The landfill closure loan, a debt exclusion, would clear the books at $23,000 at year, and the library and Horrigan Road work will fall off in a couple years.
"There are challenges we are going to face as a community, but are we going to face them as a community?" he asked.
A number of residents said it was worth it for the school.
Ann Billetz, a biology professor at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, said she and her husband had moved to Clarksburg so their children could attend school here. She extolled the education her daughter had received.
"If we do not have a new school, people are not going to live here," she said. "We are not a booming metropolis, but we have a good school."
Lev said there is a waiting list for school choice for the Level 1 school and ventured that if there was a new school building, those families might be more likely to move into town. Several others in the audience noted how fast houses in Clarksburg were being sold.
Edward Denault, a member of the School Building Committee, said three houses in his neighborhood sold within a month. "All three houses now have children," he said. "They didn't have children before."
The first time the town voted on building the school back in the 1950s was likely a difficult decision as well, Lev mused.
In fact, the town failed to pass the $160,000 project by two votes on the first try back in 1950 and second vote had to be held. Described as a "modernistic building" without the frills by the North Adams Transcript, the school had to be built when the state condemned the Center and Houghtonville schools. The new four-classroom school (for 120 children!) opened in 1952.
The vote for this much larger school project will require two votes: a two-thirds vote at next Wednesday's special town meeting to authorize borrowing and approval of a debt exclusion and a ballot vote on the debt exclusion at the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Denault urged those on the fence to vote yes next week to allow the project to move to the townwide vote in November.
"I think it's very important we get it through the town meeting. Think about voting yes even if you're not sure yet, to get it to the overall vote," he said. "You'll have a couple more weeks to think it over. If we kill it at town meeting, we're done."
The special town meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 6:30 p.m. at the school. Voting will be by secret ballot.
Tags: Clarksburg school project,
