MONTAGUE — After giving a keynote presentation about Franklin County Technical School’s proposed $236.6 million new school building before the Program Advisory Committee on Thursday, retiring Superintendent Richard Martin was presented with a surprise that had been hidden under a sheet in a separate room.
Martin, who himself is a pilot, was presented with an airplane propeller by Career and Technical Education Director Maggie Nugent, with the center showing Franklin Tech’s logo and the sides adorned with the insignias of each of the available shops at the tech school.
After 35 years working in public school education, 17 of which have been at Franklin Tech as principal and then later superintendent, Martin announced in March his plans to retire, effective June 30. Nugent, through tears, wished Martin “a happy and healthy retirement.”
Before receiving the gift, though, it was business as usual for Martin, who detailed Franklin Tech’s proposed new building to the Program Advisory Committee. The third and final information session on the proposal is coming up on Tuesday, May 12, at 6 p.m. at Greenfield Community College, and Martin encouraged attendance.
“If you don’t know what to say at the [info session], hopefully by the end of tonight you’ll have some talking points,” Martin said to start the evening.
One area of discussion is the fact that it could cost anywhere from “$75 to $90 million just to put a Band-Aid on” the current school. Other estimates from Lavallee Brensinger Architects have that number as high at $120 million for short-term solutions — which is close to what Franklin Tech’s 19 member towns would pay for an entirely new building.
If the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) reimburses the maximum amount for this project, which would be $113.8 million, that would mean the 19 member towns would pay the remaining $122.8 million. Martin has said previously that just bringing everything up to code at the 50-year-old facility could cost $103 million.
He said voters may think that if they vote down the project, it would result in no cost to the taxpayer, which he argued would not be the case.
“The mechanical system,” Martin said, “is the reason the MSBA put us at the top of the list.”
Martin detailed how eight to 10 years ago, the lights began flickering on and off in the school. If they turned off for good, he said, it would be several months that students would be out of school engaging in online learning. This eventually happened, as the Federal Pacific Electric switchgear failed in March, but power was restored with a temporary fix, allowing students to return to school the next day.
“We have done a great job … servicing our 19 member towns for 50 years,” Martin said. “Now it needs to be for the next 50 years.”
He presented a graph that showed a three-year study of vocational and technical schools across Massachusetts and the employment rate of students in their field of study after graduation, and Franklin Tech was at the top of the list.
“That’s got to make the voters feel good,” Martin said.
Martin emphasized how critical it is that those in attendance at Thursday’s Program Advisory Committee meeting attend the May 12 info session to have their voices heard, noting that some voices in opposition to the new building have been louder during the previous two info sessions.
“It’s critical for us to collaborate with one voice,” Martin said. “I would love to see, the next day in the paper, something a little bit different.”
In October, the 19 member towns will vote on the new building proposal in an election. If it is passed by all the towns, the project will continue down the design and development track from October 2026 to February 2027, followed by bidding between October 2027 and early 2028, when the project would be expected to break ground. Occupancy of the new building is set for 2030. Of the 19 member towns, Greenfield would pay the highest portion of the assessment at 24.5%, followed by Montague at 12.8%.
Representatives from Lavallee Brensinger Architects answered questions from the audience, one of which was whether the new building would use less energy than the current one. The new building would use more energy, but it would be more efficient.
Despite retiring at the end of June, Martin said he’ll continue to help with the building project. In closing, he had a simple message to those in attendance.
“I need you there Tuesday,” Martin said.
