Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 10/18/2023
WILBRAHAM — Wilbraham will conduct a Special Town Meeting on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Minnechaug Regional High School Auditorium, 621 Main St. Voters will be asked to consider five articles, four of which pertain to capital expenses at the high school. The remaining article will determine whether free cash should be used to reduce the tax rate.
Most schools in the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District are the responsibility of the town in which they are located. Although Minnechaug is located within Wilbraham, it is a regionalized building, and the responsibility for capital expenses for the building is split between the towns along enrollment lines. The capital expenses for the school were originally requested as part of the fiscal year 2023 budget, but negotiations between the school district and the towns resulted in the district waiting until fall when free cash could be used for the items.
While the district finished FY23 with $360,000 unencumbered, Assistant Superintendent for Finance, Operations and Human Resources Aaron Osborne explained at a Sept. 6 School Committee meeting that the money is needed to offset some of the $850,000 in Excess and Deficiency account funds that was used to fill gaps in the FY24 budget.
Article 1 is seeking $100,082 of free cash for Wilbraham’s share of a $125,000 heat exchange for one of five boilers at the high school. The boiler failed in April and the decision was made that the school could continue to run on the remaining four units until the fall.
Article 2 would use $24,019 of free cash to pay for the town’s portion of air conditioning units in certain classrooms. The total cost of the project is $30,000. The building does not have central air conditioning, but temperature control is a required part of the individualized education programs for some special education students. The school is required by law to adhere to IEPs.
A heat wave in the first week of September drove home the lack of air conditioning in the school. At the Sept. 6 School Committee meeting referenced above, Superintendent John Provost said that as weather patterns change and heat becomes more common during the school year, the district needs to “start thinking about how we can be more strategic” with heat relief.
While the first two articles pertained to the school’s HVAC systems, the next two articles are for technology-related items. Article 3 would approve $43,235 of free cash for Wilbraham’s share of classroom projector/monitors. The equipment, with a total pricetag of $54,000, would be used in class instruction.
Article 4 would use $60,049 of free cash to fund the town’s part of $75,000 in updates to the high school’s camera system. The cameras are original to the 11-year-old building. At the Aug. 17 School Committee meeting, Minnechaug Regional High School Principal Steven Hale was asked if the camera system was functional. He replied that if there was a hit and run in the parking lot, “I can tell you it’s a blue car with four doors,” but cannot zoom in to see a license plate. He said that he would also not be able to see the faces in an altercation between students. Perhaps more concerning are gaps in camera coverage of the building and campus.
The final article would use free cash to reduce the tax rate. The tax rate is currently $18.70 per $1,000. The town’s free cash balance and the proposed reduction had not been finalized at press time.