Selectmen and school officials have been wrangling over where the funds from the lease should go.
The former Memorial School in Wilbraham is being using by Cathedral High School as temporary quarters following last year's tornado.WILBRAHAM – Selectmen said that even after the town takes back Memorial School from the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, it is open to continuing to lease the building to Cathedral High School for as long as the school needs the building.
Cathedral is leasing the closed elementary school from the regional school district for $360,000 per year for two years.
The school district leases the school from the town for $1, but in two years is scheduled to return the building to the town.
Selectmen and school officials have been wrangling over where the funds from the lease should go.
School Committee Chairman D. John McCarthy said the funds must go to the regional school district which serves Hampden and Wilbraham.
Selectmen said they want the funds to support Wilbraham schools only.
Once the building is returned to the town, the funds will benefit the town, selectmen said.
At a meeting last week, Selectmen Robert Russell said, “We are open to helping Cathedral going forward.”
He added that the high school which is run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield is in “a tough spot” following last year’s tornado which squarely hit the building, rendering it inoperable.
Arbitration hearings are ongoing between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield and its insurer, Nebraska-based Catholic Mutual Group Inc.
The diocese and Catholic Mutual are $55 million apart on the settlement, with the diocese considering several options, including building a new school, while the insurer wants to repair the Surrey Road site in Springfield.
The hearings are expected to last until November, with the earliest possible decision coming near the end of the year, according to diocese spokesman Mark E. Dupont.
Selectman James Thompson said, “There will be a home here in Wilbraham for Cathedral as long as they need it.”
Thompson added, “School Committee member Peter Salerno asked me about that, at that is what I said.”