HOLYOKE — City officials are moving forward with the process to replace one of Holyoke’s dilapidated middle schools.
At a press conference Monday, Receiver-Superintendent Anothony Soto and acting Mayor Terence Murphy announced that the city is soliciting recommendations for members to join a School Building Committee to develop plans to replace William R. Peck Middle School. The Massachusetts School Building Authority, or MSBA, in April invited the school into its “eligibility period.” The MSBA helps municipalities fund the costs of replacing or repairing schools.
An effort to build two new middle schools roiled the city in 2019, when voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot question asking for a debt-exclusion override for the projects.
The proposed projects, which were set to receive $75.8 million from the MSBA, would have replaced Peck Middle School and H.B. Lawrence Elementary School. Those opposed to the plans raised concerns over the tax increase it would require of homeowners and businesses, as well as the process the city undertook to put the question in front of voters.
After the electoral defeat, the city reapplied to the MSBA for consideration, only this time for just one middle school: Peck. At Monday’s press conference, Murphy said the city’s bond counsel has advised him that the city can bond for building one middle school without a tax increase.
“Which I think is important to a lot of people,” he said.
Some opponents of the 2019 plan to build two middle schools also took issue with the School Building Committee and what they said was a lack of public input throughout its process. Ward 5 City Councilor Linda Vacon, for example, said after the ballot question failed that voters “want us to go back and work with a broader coalition to come up with a better, more affordable plan.”
Murphy referenced that criticism on Monday, saying that he plans to build a School Building Committee with 10 to 12 members who represent the economic and racial diversity of the city.
Murphy said that he will be vetting candidates to ensure that they can commit to 10 or more hours of work per month. He called on anyone interested in serving on the committee to apply. Those who want to be on the committee can submit a letter of interest to murphyt@holyoke.org. They can also call the mayor’s office at 413-322-5510.
“This is a chance for Holyoke to do something positive,” Murphy said.
The formation of the School Building Committee is one of several preliminary steps the city must take as the MSBA determines the school district’s financial and community readiness for a project. Once it completes those steps, the district is eligible for an invitation into the “feasibility study phase” of the MSBA’s capital pipeline.
Last time around, the MSBA’s reimbursement rate for the project to replace two schools amounted to 57% despite Holyoke being eligible for 80%. That too had irked some opponents of the project.
Soto, the state-appointed receiver-superintendent, noted Monday that Holyoke hasn’t built a new school building since the mid-1980s. Looking over at Peck Middle School, he noted that the building is poorly designed, causing safety and educational issues. It also lacks the electrical capacity to install air conditioning, making summer programming impossible, he said.
“It’s important to have new buildings because our students deserve it,” he said.
Soto said that the new building at the Peck Middle School site would house upward of 550 students — more than enough capacity for the city’s middle school needs, given enrollment trends and how the district wants to restructure the middle school experience.
The district intends to release a back-to-school plan later this week, Soto said, with students from first grade through 12th grade returning to school on Aug. 23.