GREENFIELD — A few weeks after a new $236.6 million building for Franklin County Technical School got the green light from voters, City Council heard concerns from the mayor regarding the city’s ability to pay its share of the expense.
The council voted unanimously on Wednesday to send a letter to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and Gov. Maura Healey requesting supplemental capital funding to support construction of the new school.
“I have no doubt that the investment is needed and will benefit our communities for decades to come, but it will be a burden on the taxpayers,” Mayor Ginny Desorgher said.
Earlier this month, voters in the 19 member towns approved building a new school to replace the existing 50-year-old facility. The school would need to borrow $236.6 million to pay for construction. The MSBA is expected to reimburse the towns up to $113.8 million, leaving them on the hook for $122.8 million.
In Greenfield, voters opposed the measure, with 834 voters saying “no” and 755 saying “yes.” However, as the vote required a simple majority of voters to agree across the 19 member towns, the measure passed, 4,106 to 3,522. The other towns that did not support the new school were Buckland, Shelburne, Colrain and Orange.
Greenfield is slated to see the highest yearly capital assessment of the 19 communities, at $1.87 million.
Desorgher told the council on Wednesday that she had spoken with leaders of other towns, the lieutenant governor and state Sen. Jo Comerford, and she plans to continue to advocate for the state to provide more support for the project.
“Even though a debt exclusion would separate that increase from our levy limit, it would impact the taxes overall and our ability to fund critical needs,” Desorgher said. “I’ve begun advocating to the state to make sure that they understand that Franklin County’s towns simply cannot afford this project without more help.”
To support the mayor’s advocacy, City Council voted to send a letter to state officials requesting additional help.
“Our region is incredibly proud of FCTS and its role in producing the highly skilled
workforce that drives the commonwealth’s economy, green energy transition and
local trades. However, the current financial model for the $236.6 million FCTS
building project threatens to overwhelm our taxpayers,” the letter states, citing how Greenfield and its 18 fellow member municipalities will be left “shouldering an unsustainable $122.8 million local debt burden” after factoring in MSBA reimbursement.
The letter explains that the MSBA’s funding formula has not kept up with the cost of inflation, and does not take into account that vocational schools have different architectural needs than traditional school buildings. The large bays and high ceilings required for tech schools are often deemed “excessive” or “ineligible” for state reimbursement, placing the cost on the municipalities.
“We cannot train the workforce of tomorrow using a funding formula from the past,” the letter states.
The letter states that funding the new building will push many towns in Franklin County into needing debt exclusions or Proposition 2½ override votes, and impact the towns’ ability to fund other public services. It urges the state to consider formula reform and appropriating supplemental funding for the project.
Desorgher said she hopes leaders in other Franklin County municipalities will sign the letter as well.
