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Date: 10/26/2022
CHICOPEE – After months of consideration, the School Committee voted to request authorization from the City Council to move forward with purchasing the former MassMutual Conference Center on 350 Memorial Dr. for their new administrative office during their Oct. 19 meeting.
Chicopee’s school department plans to purchase the space for $8.3 million with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds awarded in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
Background
The school department currently utilizes a leased property on 134 Dulong Cir. for administrative services. They moved into the space in August 2021 after deeming the Helen O’Connell Administration Offices on 180 Broadway St. aged and unsafe due to poor ventilation. The Helen O’Connell building has since been transferred back to city as a surplus property as city leadership weighs whether to repurpose or sell the space via a Request for Proposal (RFP).
The school department pays $280,200 annually for leasing the Dulong Circle property as part of a five-year lease agreement. Interim Superintendent Alvin Morton said the school administration staff began searching for a long-term base of operations soon after moving into the leased space.
School Committee members were initially presented the idea of the school department acquiring the former MassMutual Conference Center during a June 15 meeting. Since that meeting, the committee discussed the possibility during several regular and subcommittee meetings while also touring the space alongside the school department.
School Committee meeting
During the Oct. 19 meeting, Morton showcased a presentation on the potential acquisition. The superintendent reiterated numerous issues with the former Helen O’Connell space, which included a lack of American Disability Act compliance, insufficient space that forced several offices into school buildings and a high cost of ongoing maintenance.
“All of our district personnel people were not under one roof so we could provide the support that was necessary to the schools,” said Morton.
Morton also highlighted how the department has utilized ESSER funds so far. During ESSER I, school leadership spent 30 percent of funds toward administrators and staff, 14.8 percent for Chromebooks and other technology, 32.2 percent for online assessments and content-specific platforms and 9.6 percent toward the department’s leasing of the Dulong Circle property.
For ESSER II, the school department designated 22.7 percent for administrators and staff, 9.1 percent for upgrades to the schools’ ventilation systems, 14.5 percent for supplies and materials and 14.9 percent for other expenses and equipment. The district additionally received an additional $10,000 to go toward mental health services, which was partially used for the hiring of a social/emotional director.
ESSER III is currently ongoing. The school department has so far allocated 16 percent of ESSER III funds toward retention stipends for staff members. A few projected expenditures include 25 percent for programs to aid students with learning loss and 25 percent for programs to support students with disabilities, refugees and English Learners.
The acquisition of the MassMutual Conference Center would encompass 34 percent of ESSER III funds, which accounts for 15 percent of the total ESSER funds the school department received.
Morton highlighted several potential benefits that the MassMutual Center property could provide for parents, students and the school district as a whole. He stressed the location’s increased accessibility as a part of a Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus line.
“It’s been hard for parents, guardians and caregivers to get [to Dulong Circle] for central enrollment, but being located on a bus line will give them access to central office and service along with them having more meaningful participation in the education of their children,” said Morton.
The increased space provided by the 75,000-square-foot building would include a plethora of wraparound services. River Valley Counseling Center, the Department of Children and Families and Behavioral Health Network would be able to offer support for students and families through the proposed administrative office.
Morton also envisions an area dedicated to special education programs for 18- to 22-year-olds, which provides participants an opportunity to acquire life skills through public interactions as greeters and servers in the school’s cafeterias.
Other planned additions for the MassMutual space include the opening of a welcome center for English learners and refugee families, the expansion of the Central Enrollment Office into a family engagement center and the possible relocation of several departments – such as the public access TV station ChicopeTV, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Instructional Technology (IT) Department.
Moving these departments into the new administrative home would offer schools additional space for increased program, like the inclusion of additional shops for Chicopee Comprehensive High School’s technical workshops. The MassMutual space would additionally include a district storehouse that provides free clothing, supplies and hygiene products for students and families in need, along with a full-sized kitchen that would be used to prepare meals for community partners.
Morton aspires for the new administrative home to help improve family engagement after the school department received low scores during a recent survey.
“We seem to have very low family engagement in the city of Chicopee … We want our parents, our guardians [and] our caregivers to be partners with us in education. We’ve been lacking that particular piece. They are an important cog that we need in order to move our district forward,” said Morton.
Ward 7 School Committee member Donald Lamothe provided explanation on the process for finding a permanent administrative home. With the Dulong Circle property unavailable for purchasing, school leadership focused on the RFP process. The Memorial Drive property was the only one to application to meet the RFP’s requirements, according to Lamothe.
Lamothe envisions the potential acquisition making a “lasting impact” for Chicopee Public Schools.
“Utilizing the one-time monies that we have would make a meaningful, lasting impact on the services to the families … there is no burden to the city at this point because its federal money that we have to use before 2024,” said Lamothe.
Members of the committee expressed support for the potential acquisition. Ward 8 School Committee member Douglas Girouard said rising building expenses make the purchase a sound move.
“I’ve seen some properties, pretty much all of them in the city of Chicopee, keep going up and up as the years go on, so I don’t see this ever going down or getting cheaper for anybody … I just think it’s a good idea to acquire this property,” said Girouard.
Ward 3 School Committee member Saulo DePaula also praised the potential acquisition for being an effective solution.
“I think his is a very holistic and cost-effective solution to a problem that isn’t really going to go away … This is something that addresses student needs, administrative needs and community needs,” said DePaula.
The School Committee ultimately voted 8-1 for the authorization request, with Ward 6 School Committee member Samuel Shumsky representing the no vote. Mayor and School Committee Chairperson John Vieau and Ward 4 School Committee member Sandra Peret were not in attendance for the meeting.
The School Committee will meet again on Nov. 2.