Easthampton residents Tuesday should reverse years of failing to upgrade the city’s school buildings by voting to replace them with a new, consolidated elementary and middle school. We endorse the $109.3 million project, and urge a “yes” vote.
The 176,155-square-foot building for pre-kindergarten through Grade 8 students would be constructed on Park Street near the 43-year-old White Brook Middle School, which eventually would be demolished. The new school would also replace Maple Elementary (built in 1896), Center Elementary (1902) and Neil A. Pepin Elementary (1912).
The plan was developed after 2½ years of study by the School Building Committee, whose members include municipal officials, as well as representatives from the School Department, business community and city residents. The new school, which is projected to open in the fall of 2021, is supported by Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, the City Council and School Committee.
City officials hope a modern school would slow the departure of students who now select charter schools or the school choice program, costing Easthampton as much as $2 million annually.
The city’s old schools are structurally unsound with antiquated mechanical systems, and they do not meet modern safety standards and accessibility codes, lack sufficient room and generally are ill-suited to providing an effective, 21st-century education.
The basement of Maple Elementary is used as a gymnasium, cafeteria, library, art and music room, teachers’ lunch room and food preparation area. Some special services at the school are delivered in closets or halls.
The Center School is accessible only by stairs, which means that it cannot be entered by disabled people, and there is a single bathroom for students to use. Center School students must walk to the neighboring Pepin School to use its library, cafeteria and gymnasium.
Pepin School students use an elevator alcove for occupational therapy, and a third-floor stairwell is the regular meeting area for an English Language Learners class.
According to White Brook Principal Meredith Balise, “Overall, conditions are deteriorating” at the school, where “paint is peeling throughout the building and the floor is disintegrating.” The building’s gym has “completely worn out,” she says.
It would be cheaper to construct a new school than to repair the existing buildings. City taxpayers would be responsible for an estimated $59.71 million of the overall price tag for the new school, with the state paying the remaining $49.59 million.
Repairs to the city’s three elementary schools and White Brook so they conform with current codes are estimated to cost $135.85 million. The bill for city taxpayers would be about $105.84 million during the next seven years.
A new school, while the less expensive option, would still have a significant impact on tax bills. According to city officials, the cost of borrowing for the building project would add between $2.98 and $3.84 per $1,000 of assessed property value. With the average residential property in Easthampton assessed at $228,400, that would mean an annual increase in taxes of between $650 and $877 for as long as the city is repaying the bonds issued to finance the project.
That impact on tax bills during the next few years results from decades of putting off needed improvements to the city’s schools. As Thomas Brown, chairman of the School Building Committee puts it, “We have sort of kicked the can down the road. We can defer it, we can wait, we can keep going the way we’re going, but some day, some generation will pay for new schools in Easthampton.” With construction costs climbing by about 4 percent per year, that time is now.
We understand that the tax increase will be particularly burdensome for seniors and other residents on fixed incomes, and we appreciate the City Council’s unanimous vote this week to provide some relief. On Wednesday, it increased the tax rebate from $700 to $1,000 a year for residents with a household income of $29,000 or less, and dropped the age of eligibility from 70 to 65.
That’s a good first step, and we urge municipal officials to consider other forms of relief, such as the tax work-off program in Northampton that allows eligible residents age 60 and older to earn a tax credit of up to $1,000 in exchange for hours worked in a municipal agency.
LaChapelle describes Tuesday’s vote as “about opportunity and strength for our whole city.”
We agree. A “yes” vote Tuesday will provide Easthampton students for years to come with the modern educational facility they deserve.