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Diocese secures new lease for Cathedral High School

Date: 7/3/2013

By Carley Dangona

carley@thereminder.com

WILBRAHAM — Cathedral High School will continue to operate at 310 Main St. for the next year. At a special meeting on June 28, the Board of Selectman unanimously accepted a Request for Proposal (RFP) from the Diocese of Springfield.

The selectmen only received one RFP for Memorial School in the amount of $360,550, the minimum bid required for the RFP.

Robert Weitz, town administrator, said, "The proposed use is for a high school by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield for Cathedral High School. It's a one-year term with two, one-year options each at $360,550 per year."

If the options are utilized, Cathedral could remain at that location for up to three years.

According to an earlier article by Reminder Publications reporter Chris Maza, the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) has leased the town-owned building for $1 per year since 1994.

Memorial School was closed as part of a district restructuring effort in 2010, but HWRSD continued to lease the school and began renting it for $300,000 per year to the Diocese of Springfield as the temporary home of Cathedral High School, whose building was heavily damaged in the June 1, 2011 tornado.

Effective July 1, the lease between the town and the HWRSD was terminated, requiring a rental agreement to be established between the Board of Selectman and the Diocese.

The selectmen also re-appointed three positions at the special meeting.

Weitz was appointed to another two-year term from July 1 to June 30, 2015. Robert Matthews, member of the Agricultural Commission, will serve a three-year term from July 1 to June 30, 2016. Veteran's agent Richard Prochnow will serve another term from July 1 to June 30, 2014.