EASTHAMPTON — Hope for a new school is a key reason Ashley Krause recently decided to buy a new home in Easthampton rather than Northampton.
Krause, 40, who has lived in Easthampton for the past 10 years, has children ages 1 and 5, and said education was a top priority in her decision to stay in the city.
She’s been following the plans for a new consolidated pre-K-8 school, Krause said Tuesday at a public forum that drew dozens.
“It’s the most bang for our buck,” she said of the project.
The new school would replace the city’s three century-old elementary schools and White Brook Middle School, which school officials say is in the worst shape. A public vote on the new school project is set for May 22.
The design for the consolidated school includes a three-story wing for the middle school, a two-story wing for elementary school, and a wing for pre-kindergarten. The site for the new school is the White Brook lot. Middle and elementary levels will have separate entrances and will also ride separate buses.
Combining pre-kindergarten through eights grade in one facility allows better distribution and sharing of resources, and facilities for students with special needs, Superintendent Nancy Follansbee said.
“It improves safety,” she said. “It improves food service as well as (offering) improved opportunities for instruction in science, technology, art and physical education that we simply cannot do in our antiquated schools.”
Emergency repairs are a big concern with the aging buildings, director of business services Dayle Doiron said. On Jan. 5, Follansbee canceled school at White Brook due to problems with the heating.
“Over the recent cold snap, we had heating system failures in all four of the old buildings — the three elementary schools and White Brook — some of them simultaneously on the same day,” Doiron said.
The district’s three elementary schools and middle school lack full handicapped accessibility. Mayor Nicole LaChapelle said the new school will be equal and accessible for everyone.
“People access the environment in different ways and it’s up to us as a community to provide them spaces to have the same experience,” LaChapelle said.
The estimated project cost is $109 million, with the city paying $60 million and the state picking up the rest. Estimates of the tax impact on an average homeowner range from $680 to $875 per year, Mel Overmoyer, project manager, said. The average Easthampton home assessment value is $228,400, according to Overmoyer.
Overmoyer said those estimates are high and expects them to go down.
While the price might send some into sticker shock, Maple Elementary School crossing guard Annette Szczygiel said she supports the project, regardless of the cost.
“This is something that I cannot afford. I’m retired, I’m on a fixed income, I’m also on a very low income … When the school is built, I will lose my job because I am a crossing guard,” Szczygiel said. “Even though I can’t afford it, the city can’t afford to not do this now. So I am totally, totally in favor of it.”
Although the new school comes with a price tag, Doiron said significant savings are anticipated, along with an opportunity to reverse the financial impact of school choice and charters, which cost the city $2,011,972 last fiscal year.
Doiron said officials anticipate annual utility savings of $133,978, as well as other savings with more efficient food service, staffing, snow removal and equipment.
She said the district also expects to eliminate $120,000 in heating system repairs, $26,000 in elevator repairs, and $26,000 in building masonry repairs.
South Street resident Bob Peirent raised concerns about traffic, specifically regarding Park and South streets.
“It’s a significant safety issue,” he said.
A traffic study conducted in December by the Berkshire Design Group and information is now being analyzed, according to project architect Bert Garder, of Caolo & Bieniek Associates.
Follansbee said more public forums are planned for March through May.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.