About a month after voters pushed forward a new $236.6 million building for Franklin County Technical School, at least five municipalities have sent letters asking the state to help them shoulder the cost.
Of the total price tag, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) plans to reimburse up to $113.8 million, or 66.27% of eligible project costs. According to Franklin Tech’s website that details frequently asked project questions, the reimbursement does not represent a “flat percentage of the total project cost,” as certain parts of the work are ineligible for reimbursement from the MSBA. This means that some “site and project-related expenses” will not be reimbursed.
After factoring in the MSBA reimbursement, the 19 member municipalities are left to cover $122.8 million through bonding — an expense many towns have called a heavy lift.
On Oct. 21, Greenfield City Council voted unanimously to send a letter to the MSBA and Gov. Maura Healey requesting supplemental capital funding to help the city cover its share of the cost, which would be $1.87 million annually — the highest of the 19 member communities. Since then, other towns have followed suit, including Buckland, Conway, Deerfield and Gill.
“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.
In Greenfield, voters opposed building a new school, with 834 voters saying “no” and 755 saying “yes.” However, because the vote required a simple majority of voters to agree across the 19 member municipalities, the measure ultimately passed, 4,106 to 3,522. The other towns that did not support the new school in the Oct. 6 vote were Buckland, Shelburne, Colrain and Orange.
The letter further 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 goes on to say that funding the new building will push many towns in Franklin County into needing debt exclusions or Proposition 2½ override votes, and impact their ability to fund other public services. It urges the state to consider formula reform and appropriating supplemental funding for the project.
“This is something that we’ve been preaching to the state for years now — not just with the tech school, but with Mohawk [Trail Regional School],” Buckland Selectboard member Clint Phillips said before the board unanimously voted to send the letter on Oct. 27. “It’s been an ongoing issue and it’s now starting to hit bigger communities.”
According to a document from Franklin Tech, Buckland’s yearly capital assessment for the new building comes to about $219,500, with Conway facing about $238,000 per year.
“It’s a huge expense, and it’s a huge expense for years to come,” Conway Selectboard Chair Christopher Waldo said after the board supported sending the letter on Monday night.
He pointed to other town expenses on the horizon that the board had discussed during its meeting, like improvements to Conway Grammar School’s curb and parking lot.
“There’s limited funding,” he said regarding the town budget.
In Deerfield, the yearly capital assessment for the new building is about $697,000, the fourth-highest of the school’s member municipalities.
The Deerfield Selectboard agreed to send the letter with a few additions. The letter mentions recent changes the MSBA board of directors approved to boost its available funding for projects, such as raising its funding limit from $586 per square foot of a building project to $605 per square foot.
“These were meaningful steps,” the letter reads. “They were not, however, designed with vocational-technical schools in mind.”
The letter then mentions the MSBA’s funding limits of $1,915 per student for fixtures, furniture and equipment, and $1,570 per student for computer equipment, per the board of directors’ latest memorandum. The letter claims these reimbursements come from “academic school projects” and “do not account for the machine tools, vehicle lifts, welding stations and other industrial equipment that Chapter 74 programs require.” Chapter 74 programs refer to state-approved technical vocational educational programs.
While the other letters requested supplemental capital aid from the state Legislature, Deerfield’s letter specifically asks the Legislature to authorize and fund a supplemental MSBA grant for the new Franklin Tech building and expand the state’s capacity for grants for vocational technical schools beyond the MSBA’s annual funding cap. Both the Greenfield City Council’s letter and Deerfield’s letter urge the MSBA to make changes so its support better reflects the needs of vocational and technical schools.
Deerfield Assistant Town Administrator Greg Snedeker, who wrote the additions to the letter, called the requests a “big ask,” but “a reasonable ask.”
“Obviously, we supported it, we voted for it,” Snedeker said, “but now we’re in sticker shock and hoping for a little extra if we possibly can.”
“We just need a little help,” added Selectboard member Trevor McDaniel.
In Montague, where Franklin Tech is located, the Selectboard received Greenfield’s letter of advocacy for the additional support. Town Administrator Walter Ramsey said it doesn’t do any harm for the community to advocate for further funding support, and his request to the Selectboard provided him with the all-clear to make some revisions to the letter to pertain to Montague’s needs before it is sent.
At Franklin Tech, the concern was addressed during its monthly School Committee meeting on Wednesday. According to unofficial meeting minutes, Chair Richard Kuklewicz, who also chairs the Montague Selectboard, addressed the community concerns related to the cost of the project, and noted that there have been discussions with state Sen. Jo Comerford “regarding continued collaboration,” with some suggestions from members to also engage with the federal delegation to look into funding earmarks.
Additionally, a letter advocating for additional funding is expected to be prepared and brought forward during Franklin Tech’s December meeting for signatures.
Erin-Leigh Hoffman and Johnny Depin contributed reporting.
