Mount Greylock Takes Step to Secure Funding for School Roof Replacements
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock School Committee on Thursday took a step to address a major capital need of the district and, potentially, a utility question that has vexed other entities in one of its member towns.
Assistant Superintendent Joe Bergeron detailed for the committee the district's effort to participate in the commonwealth's new Green School Works initiative, under which the state will pay for roof replacements on school buildings if the project includes installation of significant rooftop solar arrays.
"The first time this program will be funded will probably be — though there is no guarantee from the state — the upcoming fiscal year, fiscal year 2025," Bergeron said.
"We have tried to work with [solar developer] Solect, with the two town halls, with legal counsel … to try to get to the point where we have all things ready to go when the project is funded. Any lease we sign [with Solect] would have a contingency saying: Only if we are accepted into the program and the state puts a new roof on the building."
Town halls in Lanesborough and Williamstown are involved because the two towns own their elementary school buildings and lease them to the regional school district, which was formed after the buildings were constructed.
Both Lanesborough Elementary School and Williamstown Elementary School were built around the same time, and both are coming up on the time when officials will need to think about roof replacements.
For context, Bergeron explained that the roofs of the district's two elementary schools are approaching the time when the state normally helps school districts borrow money to address replacement.
"The [Massachusetts School Building Authority] operates what it calls an Accelerated Repair Program," he said. "Schools are eligible to participate in that program when the roof is 25 years old. Ours are 21 or 22 years old, so we're a little shy of eligibility. Both our elementary school rooves are showing their wear, and we'd like to address them before we have routine leaking issues. It's an area to be proactive if at all possible."
As it stands right now, though, the district has a clearer path to state funding for a project at Lanesborough Elementary because a solar project at WES — or any large-scale solar project in the North County town — is complicated.
As the Williamstown Fire District's Building Committee learned in June, large-scale solar projects in Williamstown are hampered by low capacity on National Grid's feeder lines, which have to accept power generated by photovoltaic arrays. The capacity issue also has been reported to be a stumbling block for Williams College, which already has several large-scale solar projects, including the one it developed with the town at the capped landfill at the town transfer station.
National Grid has informed the school district that it cannot move forward with any request to approve new large solar projects in Williamstown until it studies the issue; the study would cost $12,000.
That led to the action Bergeron asked the School Committee to take at its monthly meeting last Thursday.
"Solect has said, if your School Committee says it's likely to sign the lease and [power purchase agreements], then we can foot the bill to cover the cost of the study," Bergeron said."National Grid let us know [in early December] that, ‘We are requiring a study and, we need you to let us know by Dec. 21 whether you want to go forward with it or you'll go to the back of the line in some queue, somewhere and maybe you'll hear from us in the future.' "
Bergeron asked the School Committee for, essentially, a non-binding commitment to go forward with the roof replacement/solar array project if the National Grid issue is resolved and the roof is funded through the Green School Works program.
Carolyn Greene asked Bergeron how a new PPA would impact the district's existing electricity deals with the town of Williamstown for service at WES and the middle-high school.
"Currently in Williamstown … we receive net metering credits as a result of that solar array," Bergeron said. "That means our electricity bills across the many meters we have are significantly lower as a result of that installation. If we were to do [the roof replacement/solar array deal] the plan would be that WES would no longer receive those solar credits because it would be producing, during peak periods, well in excess of its usage.
"We would transfer more credits to Mount Greylock … and the town would be able to allocate other credits to other meters within town so it would realize additional savings on those accounts."
In the meantime, the town and district would receive a new roof at the elementary school, which normally would be a seven-figure expense.
Jose Constantine asked Bergeron about whether the district could fund the roof replacement at WES on its own from proceeds of a capital gift Williams College gave to the then town department at the time of construction.
"It's my opinion that the state programs that can fund rooves and windows, we should use for those purposes if at all possible," Bergeron said, referring to the Green School Works and MSBA programs. "We have flooring. We have … the playground project. Also, we have some areas where we'd like to get ahead of security, fire and video camera systems for WES. A bunch of areas that do exist need renewal in the near term.
"We have lots of use [for the Williams capital gift]."
In the end, the School Committee voted 6-0, with Ursula Maloy absent, to give the preliminary commitment Bergeron sought in order to give Solect assurance that the district was interested enough for the developer to fund the National Grid study.
In other business on Thursday, the School Committee:
• Heard an update on the district's use of technology from Director of Academic Technology Elea Kaatz.
• OK'd Chair Christina Conry's reappointment of Greene, Maloy and Steven Miller to the standing Finance Subcommittee and Constantine, Julia Bowen and Curtis Elfenbein to the Policy and Governance Committee.
• Approved an updated policy for library materials at the district's three schools, incorporating language that Miller suggested at the November meeting where the policy received a first read.
• Learned that the contractor building a new multisport field and track at Mount Greylock was optimistic that earth work could continue into the beginning of January if the long range weather forecast holds up.
• Discussed the FY25 budget process. Bergeron said the Finance Subcommittee would begin its review in early January and that he hoped to have staff budgets available for a first look by the full School Committee at its Jan. 11 session. "The state has indicated that before this month is out, we should get a look at the governor's Chapter 70 and 71 numbers," Bergeron said. "The last couple of years, first because of COVID and then with the change in administration, they came out later."
• Acknowledged the passing of district custodian Greg Hoard, who died at age 60 in early December. "Greg, if you ever met him, you would not be likely to forget him," Superintendent Jason McCandless said. "He had a good spirit and a massive sense of humor and was a very hard worker."
• Received a report from Bergeron and McCandless on the district's efforts to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at the three schools.
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