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Date: 3/26/2015
EAST LONGMEADOW – The second statement of interest (SOI) for a new high school within the past year was unanimously approved by the Board of Selectmen to be sent to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) before its April 10 deadline.
Superintendent of Schools Gordon Smith told Reminder Publications the MSBA did not invite the town into its program last year after it submitted its first SOI.
“They had 106 statement of interests presented and I believe they invited 16,” he added. “So, it’s a pretty competitive process and they really go through and what they’re screening on is a sense of urgency. We’re doing it again, but we do know that other districts have done it a few times.”
The district has hopes for the construction of a new high school, Gordon said.
“Our statement of interest will be around, hopefully, a project that would discuss a new building,” he added. “What the MSBA will do is they will take that SOI and if we get invited into what they call their eligibility period, then the town has to go through some decision making and vote to fund what the MSBA calls a feasibility study.”
The feasibility study would include an in depth look at East Longmeadow High School (ELHS) as well as potential projects such as a new building, renovation, or addition to the existing building, Smith said.
“They would go through that study to determine what is the best project to handle the area of need,” he added.
ELHS has an outdated electrical system that has reached its maximum capacity, Smith said. The building was constructed in 1960 and is approximately 74,000 square feet with a current student body of 875.
“We have a pretty urgent situation,” he added. “You really can’t add more to the electrical system at the high school at the moment. We’re hoping that’s compelling.”
The academic spaces at ELHS also no longer meet the recommended required space under the MSBA.
“Certainly our science labs do not meet the current recommended spaces,” he noted. “So, we’re an old building and as technology, teaching, all these things have move forward, there’s been recognition that a greater amount of square feet is needed.”
The heating and ventilation systems are “predominately the same” and are “not anywhere where they should be in terms of what new ventilation systems can do,” Smith said.
According to the MSBA, the base reimbursement rate for any school project in the Commonwealth is 31 percent. The base rate can be adjusted based on a community income factor, community property wealth factor, and a community poverty factor.
The community income factor is defined as “the district’s per capita income as a percent of state wide average per capita income.” The community property wealth factor is calculated by per capita equalized property valuations as a percent of statewide averages. The poverty factor is based on federal eligibility for free or reduced price lunch for students as a percentage of a statewide average.
Other factors that could increase the reimbursement rate include choosing a model school program – which was utilized by the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District in constructing a new Minnechaug Regional High School – having a newly formed regional school district, utilizing a high efficiency green school program, using best practices for routine and capital maintenance, and a renovation or re-use of an existing facility.
The MSBA would start reimbursing the town once it approved expending funds, which would include a feasibility study, Smith said. Funding for a feasibility study would need to be approved during a Town Meeting.
“All I know is that it would be above 50 percent [for reimbursement],” he added. “I don’t know how high it would be.”
Smith said if the district were invited into the eligibility period it would likely happen in either November or December.
“Hampden-Wilbraham has gotten a project,” he noted. “Longmeadow has gotten a project. West Springfield’s gotten a project. So, my hope would be that they are looking at Western Massachusetts.”