EASTHAMPTON — City councilors agree Easthampton needs a new school, and on Wednesday, they signed a resolution backing one.
The proposed pre-K through eighth grade school would consolidate the city’s three century-old elementary schools and White Brook Middle School, which was built in the 1970s. The project is estimated to cost about $109 million, and if approved, the Massachusetts School Building Authority would pay for roughly half of the total.
A debt exclusion override vote on the new school project is set for May 22. The School Building Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 20, at 5 p.m. and a public information forum will follow at 6:30 p.m.
The resolution, proposed by Councilor Owen Zaret, says “Conditions in current school buildings are unhealthy for our children, not inline with educational standards and not compatible with 21 century teaching and learning … The entire Easthampton community will benefit from a school with modern design, larger classrooms, and improved facilities for the education of our students and the use of the community.”
Councilor James “JP” Kwiecinski said on Wednesday that the city loses about $2 million a year as students leave the city’s schools for choice and charter schools, and a new school will save the city money by lowering those expenses.
“This is a benefit to the taxpayer for the short-run and the long-run,” Kwiecinski said.
Councilor Thomas Peake added that the buildings have structural issues which would need to be fixed in the future. He said the new school project is more cost-effective than renovating the schools to bring them up to code.
Councilor Salem Derby is a teacher in Northampton and said over the years he’s had hundreds of students from Easthampton.
“Every time I ask ‘Why are you in Northampton?’ they say ‘Have you seen the schools?’” Derby said. “That’s a problem.”
Councilor Dan Rist defended accusations that the School Building Committee has not been transparent with the project.
“All of their meetings have been open to the public where anyone can observe or comment on the project,” Rist said. “They have not been meeting in secret and there is no conspiracy to hide anything from the public.”
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.