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Date: 1/4/2023
CHICOPEE – Chicopee Public Schools continues its pursuit of a permanent administrative home. After the City Council opted to send the potential purchase of the former MassMutual Conference Center on 350 Memorial Dr. to subcommittee meetings, the Education Committee met on Dec. 22 to discuss the school department’s educational plans with the building.
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 the city as a surplus property while 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, 2022 meeting after the property was the only applicant to respond to the school’s RFP. Since that meeting, the committee discussed the possibility during several regular and subcommittee meetings while also touring the space alongside the school department.
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. The funds would derive from ESSER III, making up 34 percent of the funding round’s resources.
During the Oct. 19, 2022 meeting, School Committee members, such as Ward 7 School Committee member Donald Lamothe and Ward 8 School Committee member Douglas Girouard, expressed their support for the project before it received School Committee approval.
“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.
“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.
The City Council first discussed the potential acquisition during their Nov. 15 meeting. Members of the council agreed that they need to learn more about the educational and financial components of the purchase before voting, ultimately sending the discussion topic to the Education Committee and Finance Committee.
Once the vote is returned to the City Council, a super majority of 9 yes votes, along with state approval, will be needed to finalize the purchase.
Education Committee
In an interview with Reminder Publishing, Ward 9 City Councilor and Education Committee Chair Mary-Elizabeth Pniak-Costello highlighted the educational components planned for the potential purchase.
Pniak-Costello said 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.
“They would coordinate support for students and their families with social, emotional and mental health concerns. They would have hours that are convenient for families on off school times. That’s not able, at this point, being done in the schools itself [currently],” said Pniak-Costello.
One area of the building will be 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, according to Pniak-Costello.
Other planned additions for the MassMutual space include the opening of a welcome center for English learners and refugee families and the expansion of the Central Enrollment Office into a family engagement center. Pniak-Costello said the welcome center would provide a “preliminary introduction to Chicopee schools” and help the school department better understand student needs.
The possible relocation of several departments – such as the public access TV station ChicopeeTV, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Instructional Technology (IT) Department would also occur. Several of these departments are currently located within school buildings.
“[The relocation] would free space in schools to expand educational opportunities for schools … This would allow for the expansion of additional shops for career and technical education,” said Pniak-Costello.
Pniak-Costello said the space would include other amenities, such as a full-size kitchen and increased meeting space that could be utilized for a variety of functions.
The Finance Committee will discuss the purchase’s financial aspects. A meeting date is currently unscheduled.
Pniak-Costello said the school department has yet to receive official approval from the state to utilize ESSER III funds for the purchase. The subject of funding sources is expected to be a crucial topic during the Finance Committee meeting.
“It’s not definite from what I gather that this is going to be funded by ESSER money. If it’s not going to be funded from ESSER money, what’s going to happen? That’s an issue that they are going to have to take up in the Finance Committee,” said Pniak-Costello.