Chicopee receives $51m for schools from state

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE In the shadow of the new Chicopee Comprehensive High School, city officials announced that State Treasurer Timothy Cahill had presented the city with a check for over $51 million from the state's school building reimbursement fund on Aug. 15.

And although Mayor Michael Bissonnette, State Joseph Wagner and members of the city's Board of Aldermen posed with an over-sized check, it was noted with laughter the money had already been transferred into the city's accounts.

The $51 million is the largest single state award ever given to the city.

The funding represents a $17 million final payment for the new Chicopee High School and a $29 million payment for the on-going Chicopee Comp project. The remaining funds will be used to repair roofs at Bellamy Middle School, Barry Elementary School, Belcher Elementary School, Bowe Elementary School, Bowie Elementary School, Stefanik Elementary School, Lambert-Lavoie Elementary School, Selser Memorial Elementary School and Streiber Memorial Elementary School.

Cahill was named the chair of the Massachusetts School Building Authority in 2004. He instituted fiscal reforms that allowed the Authority to begin an early payment system that saved local communities millions of dollars in interest fees.

Cahill noted that under the previous system Chicopee would not have received the reimbursement until 2035.

Bissonnette said the city "was in the position to save a couple of million in the short term, millions in interest in the long term."

Bissonnette believes the fact the city will have two new high schools will make Chicopee even more attractive to people looking to buy a home.

"If you have kids in elementary school, this is where you would want your kids to go to school," he said.

He said the new city library and a 98 percent MCAS passing rate also add to the attraction.

He added that Chicopee has western Massachusetts's second largest School Choice program, which he expects to grow with the completion of the new Chicopee Comp.