ORANGE — A vote that would allow for a study aimed at helping Orange determine what to do with the aging and obsolete Dexter Park School is set to appear on a Jan. 8 ballot.
More than 200 people at special town meeting Thursday voted in favor of a motion to set aside money for a feasibility study. The Jan. 8 ballot vote will pertain to approving debt exclusion for the feasibility study’s cost.
Money is up for grabs from the Massachusetts School Building Authority — a quasi-independent government authority dedicated to reforming the process of funding capital improvement projects in the state’s public schools — but a feasibility study is required before any work is done.
According to information from the Dexter Park School Building Study Committee, a feasibility study could potentially reveal the need to rebuild or modernize the Dexter Park School, modernize or add to another school building, build a new school on the Dexter Street site, or build a new school at an alternate site.
The Dexter Park School, at 3 Dexter St. Extension, was built in the early 1950s and currently houses grades 3 through 6. Some residents at the meeting stood up to speak about the health and safety hazards the building carries.
According to the study committee, the feasibility study comes with the MSBA’s reimbursement rate of 79.5 percent. The estimated cost is $875,000, with a state share of $695,625 and a town share of $179,375.
Townspeople also voted to increase the number of Planning Board members from six to seven and the number of Selectboard members from three to five.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 258. On Twitter: @DomenicPoli