The Quaboag school superintendent said they are only proposing improvements to West Brookfield Elementary School at this time. He will push for improvements to the Warren Elementary School, and middle-high school next year.
Quaboag Regional School District Superintendent Brett M. KustigianWest Brookfield voters will get a second chance on voting for $700,000 in improvements at its elementary school at a special Town Meeting next month.
Quaboag Regional School District Superintendent Brett M. Kustigian said voters were urged to vote against debt exclusions for technology and infrastructure improvements at the annual Town Meeting on May 10, even though voters supported them at the annual town election a week earlier.
That was because Warren voters rejected the debt exclusion questions at their annual election, and also agreed to disapprove them at the annual Town Meeting. The two towns make up the Quaboag Regional School District.
Kustigian said he told Warren voters that it was not the right time to be asking for the upgrades, and asked them to consider looking at making technology and facility upgrades to its elementary and middle-high schools next year.
Kustigian said they decided to postpone the push for the debt exclusions in Warren because the “Warren voters spoke so loudly” against it. Votes were 287 to 184 against improvements at Warren Elementary, and 292-179 against upgrades at the middle-high school.
“It just didn’t seem like the right time for it,” Kustigian said.
Over the next year, Kustigian said he will work on another proposal “and try to get more people on board” with the projects in Warren.
In West Brookfield, the vote was 160-127 in support of improvements at its elementary school, and 152-132 for upgrades at the middle-high school.
Having the question come up again next month will enable school officials to present updated figures, he said. But this time, only the elementary school will be on warrant. The special Town Meeting is June 21 at 7 p.m. at West Brookfield Elementary School.
Kustigian said West Brookfield voters and parents have been very supportive of the projects in their towns. If the article passes at the special Town Meeting, it will enable the district to place a projector and electronic “smartboard” in every classroom, as well as fund extra computers for each classroom and replace flooring and clocks.
West Brookfield Elementary School houses kindergarten through grade 6, and has 340 pupils. The tax impact was unavailable from the West Brookfield accountant’s office on Wednesday.
Kustigian has said that after the Massachusetts School Building Authority gave the district an unexpected payout of $15 million last year, eliminating the final 10 years of payments on the middle-high school project, officials began looking into other potential projects to improve the schools in the 1,500 student district.
“We wouldn’t even be having this conversation if we didn’t pay off the high school,” Kustigian said.
In a debt exclusion, taxes are raised beyond the limits of Proposition 2 ½ only for the life of the project.