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Date: 6/6/2023
HOLYOKE – Mayor Joshua Garcia broke down the case for why Holyoke needs a new middle school building as the vote for a new school building was nearing in a short chat with Holyoke Media released on May 31 in the latest “Mayor’s Message.”
Garcia noted he was feeling confident the City Council will approve funding of the proposed $85,504,592 project to replace the aging and energy-inefficient William R. Peck Middle School with a 550-student middle school. The city council discussed the proposal once again during its May 30 fiscal year 2024 budget hearing, but in the process leading up to their final vote the mayor has maintained optimism the city is in a good position to pull of the project.
Of the over $85 million in costs, it’s expected for the state through the Massachusetts School Building Authority to reimburse the city $46 million which means the city will be responsible for a total of $40 million of the projected costs. Garcia has maintained these are conservative estimates over this process and through various factors, there could be a decent chance these costs are much less than anticipated.
During his “Mayor’s Message” Garcia noted the conversation around a new middle school building has gone back as far in 10 to 15 years in Holyoke. He said when the districts grades were restructured from middle school to K-8 model leading to middle school aged population in different instances across the city going to school in buildings designed just for elementary aged population.
The district has notably redistricted to establish K-5 and middle school buildings separate once again which will begin in the fall. From the moment this all began though, Garcia said the community has been having ongoing discussions about how to transition back to before and the idea of a new middle school has appeared very beneficial to the district.
Garcia referenced two election seasons ago where voters had a chance to approve two new middle schools to be built. The voters made it clear they were not interested in the proposal as it was denied so it was time to regroup for the proposal.
“We restrategized and refocused and put forward a proposal that was focused on building what we need at the most feasible option within the budget limits of what we have and what’s in front of the Council at the moment for authorization to go forward with bonding,” Garcia said.
Garcia credited the New School Building Committee for their hard work during this process and said they had a keen focus on making sure whatever was brought forward to the council for vote was within the budget limits of what the city can afford.
Describing what the bond taken out by the city could look like, Garcia said they were looking to secure a 30-year bond and noted the first payment would not be made until fiscal year 2027 based on the city’s debt schedule. The council will eventually vote on the proposed fiscal year 2024 budget for the city toward the end of June.
“We have a debt schedule where debts are rolling off every year and so we try to maintain a specific debt limit and not surpass that so basically what we’ll be doing is kind of absorbing that within our current debt schedule, and making sure that doesn’t tap into further appropriation and take away from services just to keep up with debt payments,” Garcia explained.
He added how it will impact taxes will be just like everything else they juggle within the municipality. A plan to use different revenue sources available to keep the city on pace with its debt payments moving forward. He added though that things can change such as health insurance costs, or other uncontrollable expenses might go up that can impact the tax rate. He reiterated the situation was not black and white.
When discussing the price tag of the proposed new school building, Garcia said their estimates are conservative but they anticipate prices being potentially lower, but it is dependent on many factors.
“We do anticipate that when we go out to bid and you start to get the true numbers, it can be less, we anticipate it’s going to be a little less than $40 million, but then again with the way things are going and costs fluctuating, it could be more, and if it’s more we wouldn’t be able to support the project unless we go back and regroup and work with our council and the community,” Garcia said.
Garcia said he has seen support from the community as many understand the Peck building is an out-of-date space and constructing a modern and up to date building will benefit the children of Holyoke. He noted he has also heard from others in the community that as long as it’s within the budget there is no push back there.
“I haven’t heard anybody tell me that, ‘This is terrible and not a good idea, we shouldn’t do this,’ at all. It’s mostly generally supportive whether you use the schools or don’t use the schools,” Garcia said.
If the City Council approves the proposal, there would not be a ballot question this fall like the last time the city was considering the two new school buildings. The public had to vote then to seek debt authorization from the community that was beyond the city’s limits. This time the proposal does not exceed the city’s limits and is only for one new middle school building, making it a much simpler vote that the council will decide on.
“Currently the vote is through the council and not the public, for debt authorization for what is within our limits,” Garcia added.
The City Council discussed the proposal during its May 30 budget hearing and is prepared to vote on the middle school proposal in their June 6 meeting that will inform the MSBA of the local commitment in building the new school building. A two-thirds majority is needed for passage.
“Our plan will require long-term fiscal discipline and ensures we have sufficient cash flow and do not take on too much debt, while also meeting all of the city’s other critical capital needs,” said At-Large City Councilor Kevin Jourdain during the council meeting. Jourdain was against the proposal of the two middle school buildings in 2019.
In the “Mayor’s Message” Garcia called this process “organic” and said he feels confidently that he’s been trying to encourage unanimous support. He credited the City Council and the New School Building Committee for asking important questions and raising important concerns that helped steer the best plan for the city.
Garcia explained support most likely has shifted this time around due to the process taken and the community’s involvement in orchestrating this proposal.
“I think in that process [the last attempt] revealed an important concern. Taking on costs that can potentially burden taxpayers and the city – you know it was a tough debate because it we’re talking about kids and youth and what about their burdens and their concerns,” Garcia said. “The conclusion of that was, ‘hey look, we’re not saying we don’t want to do this. We’re saying this is a real concern, we can price out people out of the city.”
Garcia said these concerns were valid from voters who ultimately voted no and so through the process led to alignment in the city that has led to what they have now. The mayor is maintaining optimism for the upcoming vote and mentioned he anticipates the project could begin construction as early as fall 2024 or February 2025.
“I feel good about the work, not that I did, all I did was help facilitate and shepherd things through. But the work that this school building committee did, the work that the city councilors have done to date, to be involved in that process, the contributions of this community through that process has got us to where we are right now,” Garcia said. “So again, fingers crossed, unanimous support, and let’s build this middle school.”
The City Council vote on the middle school project took place at its June 6 meeting, which was after Reminder Publishing’s deadline. Coverage of this meeting will appear in the June 15 edition of The Reminder.