Blackstone fire chief says he’ll close high school
BLACKSTONE – Fire Chief Michael J. Sweeney has instructed School Superintendent Allen W. Himmelberger as well as town officials in both Blackstone and Millville that he will not allow the Blackstone-Millville Regional High School to open next September unless the building’s aging fire alarm system is updated – a project that is expected to cost more than a quarter-million dollars.
“That’s how serious and important this is,” Town Administrator Daniel M. Keyes told the Blackstone Board of Selectmen at a meeting Tuesday.
According to Keyes, Blackstone’s share of the fire alarm project would be $162,648, which is roughly 73 percent of the entire cost of the estimated $214,000 project. The remaining $51,352 would be paid by Millville.
Keyes said Blackstone voters will be asked to approve that town’s share of the project at the annual town meeting on May 29. If approved by voters, the money would come from the town’s free cash account.
The funding request is one of 24 articles on the annual town meeting warrant, which was closed on Tuesday.
A facilities study drafted by the New England School Development Council has identified major deficiencies at the 46-year-old Blackstone-Millville Regional High School and the 51-yearold John F. Kennedy/Au-
gustine F. Maloney school complex, including old and inefficient HVAC and electrical systems and the need for energy efficient windows, doors and lighting.
Simply put, the schools are outdated and have poorly operating building systems.
A few years ago, the district replaced the roofs of the Blackstone-Millville Regional High School, the John F. Kennedy Elementary School/ Augustine F. Maloney Elementary School and Millville Elementary School. Those projects were part of the MSBA’s accelerated repair program in which the government agency reimburses the town a percentage of the cost.
The Blackstone-Millville Regional School District was established in 1967 and includes one elementary school in Millville (Millville Elementary School, preschool-Grade 5); two elementary schools in Blackstone (John F. Kennedy, kindergarten-Grade 3 and Augustine F. Maloney, Grades 4-5); and a middle school and high
school in Blackstone (Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School and Blackstone Millville Regional High School).
The district serves1,882 students, has a 135-member teaching staff and is overseen by an elected eight-member School Committee, with four members from each town.
School officials learned late last year that the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Blackstone has been invited into the funding process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority for repairs and upgrades, but missing the cut for similar funding was the Augustine F. Maloney School in Blackstone and the Millville Elementary School in Millville.
The school district submitted three statements of interest to the MSBA in January of last year, which was a first step toward potential MSBA funding for major renovations to the three schools, as well as the Blackstone-Millville Regional High School.
The district sought the state funding for the three el--
ementary schools under the MSBA’s accelerated repair program, but only the Kennedy school was invited into the program, which helps to fund targeted repairs to school buildings. If the MSBA eventually accepts the project, the district could be reimbursed up to about 58 percent of the repair.
The MSBA Board of Directors voted to invite only 19 projects in 13 school districts into the program, including the JFK school. The Maloney School and Millville Elementary School, however, were not invited to move forward due to the large number of applications.
As for the high school project, the district was seeking funds under the MSBA’s core program, which is primarily for extensive repairs, renovations and additions to existing facilities and for the construction of new schools. That application was also denied, but school officials say they will resubmit a statement interest for the next round of funding.
When Himmelberger discussed the conditions of the two schools in 2016, he said the buildings still have much of the same equipment and infrastructure.
The district’s plan is not to replace the schools, but to renovate and modernize them, hopefully over the next few years.
The MSBA’s accelerated repair program does not cover plumbing, electrical, flooring and carpet, so the cost of those repairs would be borne by the town as a capital expenditure.
If the high school is eventually accepted into the MSBA’s core program, that projected $25 million project would also receive 58 percent reimbursement, leaving the towns of Blackstone and Millville responsible for 42 percent of the cost, which would be roughly $10 million split proportionately between Blackstone and Millville.