PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS & FIELDS WERE MAJOR TOPICS AT “CUPPA JOE” EVENT WITH TOWN MANAGER, SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT

Once each month, Town Manager Paul Bockelman hosts a “Cuppa’ Joe with Paul”, inviting along another member of town staff to meet with residents and hear their comments, suggestions and complaints.  The most recent event, held on July 12^th at the Shiru Cafe in downtown Amherst, was with the Town Manager and the Schools Superintendent Michael Morris.  The conversation topics included a Crocker Farm School expansion study, regional and town athletic fields, school roof repair, regional school incidents and vaping. Bockelman and Morris were joined by about ten residents, including three high school athletes and Town Councilor, Shalini Bahl-Milne (District 5).

Crocker Farm Study

Jennifer Page of Potwine Drive started off the event by asking about the status of the Crocker Farm Expansion Study  to explore whether Crocker Farm could, if needed,  accommodate an increased enrollment and the associated cost of such an expansion.  The study originated as a Resident Capital Request by Maria Kopicki and Toni Cunningham and was included in the final FY20 budget after review by the Joint Capital Planning Committee (JCPC), Finance Committee, Town Manager and Town Council.

Morris indicated that the funding for a design firm was available as of July 1 and that the resident petitioners had met with himself and Bockelman in June to discuss next steps.  Following that meeting, Morris spoke with representatives at the MSBA who supported the proposed study and indicated that it should be completed before enrollment decisions were made. The Enrollment Period is one of the first steps in an MSBA Feasibility Study, occurring approximately 3 months after being accepted into the process. 

Having gained the approval of the JCPC, Finance Committee, and Town Council, the study now awaits action on the part of town leadership.  It is unclear who has the authority to allow the study to move forward: the Town Manager, the Superintendent, the School Committee, or the Town Council. The petitioners have sought clarification on this.

Bockelman offered that the study should not begin until after Amherst is accepted into the MSBA program (see also a report in The Daily Hampshire Gazette here). The status of Amherst’s Statement of Interest applications will be known mid-December 2019 and Bockelman has expressed doubt that Amherst will be accepted this year.  He contends that the study would need to be redone if school enrollment were to change substantially. This reporter, who is also one of the citizen petitioners for the study, does not share that belief and countered that it would be better for the likely 3-4 month study to commence over the summer so that it would be complete before an MSBA process would begin, averting unnecessary delays.   

The study would determine whether the Crocker Farm building and site could accommodate an expanded student population from the current roughly 350 to 480 or 560 students. If the  proposed two school elementary system approved by Morris and the Town Council is adopted and 6^th grade remains with elementary, Crocker Farm would need to accommodate half of the elementary population, around 560 students.  If the study shows that enrollment is not feasible at Crocker Farm, either due to space constraints or prohibitive costs, then 6^th grade would need to move to the Middle School. This information would inform the current study about 6^th grade that is due to be completed in January.  The lower enrollment (480) reflects a K-5 grade span that divides the current elementary student population equally between two school buildings.  Additionally, this information would inform what is possible should enrollment increase in the future.

The study would also provide information on the probable cost of such an expansion, an important piece of the puzzle in planning for all the major capital projects. Kopicki argued that there is no advantage to waiting and much to be gained by having information that will help focus future decisions.  

Athletic Fields

Chris Ehorn, coach of the ARHS football team, wanted to know what he and others could do to help with respect to funding a new multisport stadium, now that the facilities study by Weston and Samson is complete.  Morris noted that there are “governance challenges” surrounding the proposed $12-18 million of work on a combination of regional and (Amherst) town-owned fields that are used by ARHS and ARMS athletes, as well as members of the community.  He noted that the fields in most need of attention, such as the track, are on regional land, but that some elected officials of a member town indicated that they would not support financial contributions to this work. Morris reported that the Regional School Committee will take up the issue of capital improvements to the athletic fields in the fall (2019) and that capital borrowing and spending requires the approval of 3 of the 4 town’s elected bodies.

Morris suggested that funding could take many forms, including community members leading a professional fundraising effort, possible leasing of regional lands to the Town of Amherst, and corporate or private sponsorships.  While Coach Ehorn embraced the idea of selling naming rights for fields and advertising to generate funds, Morris cautioned that residents have not been enthusiastic about having individuals or businesses, local or national, associated with community resources.  Three athletes added that building a multipurpose stadium would also attract new students and spectators to games. Ehorn expressed confidence that private grant money could be identified to help fund the fields as well as seeking contributions from alumni. Morris and Bockelman also noted that while public institutions of higher learning like UMass cannot do so, private entities like Amherst College can donate to local school districts, pointing to monies given by Williams College to Mount Greylock Regional High School in Williamstown, MA. 

Roofs

The Regional School District applied to the MSBA’s Accelerated Repair program to replace the roof on the Middle School.  Although the program’s policy considers applications for roofs that are 20 years old, the number of districts requiring roof replacement has grown such that the state agency has been restricting its program to even older roofs, this year setting the cut-off at 27 years of age. Since the ARMS roof is 25 years old, it did not qualify for this year.  The Amherst Town Council had approved the Regional School Budget’s FY20 capital request for $3M to replace the roof (the MSBA requires that the full amount be approved locally and typically reimburses approximately half the cost, depending on the financial needs of the district). Morris was asked if the regional schools would proceed with roof replacement this year at full cost (without matching funds) or would reapply in a future year to the MSBA and whether the approved funds could be used for other capital needs.  He indicated that the Regional School Committee would meet in the fall to decide how to spend the money. Amherst Town Council would need to approve a different use of the funds because it took a vote on the specific use for a new roof; the Select Boards of the other 3 Regional member towns (Pelham, Shutesbury, and Leverett) did not bring a specific request to their Town Meetings and, in accordance with the Regional Agreement, since 60 days passed, the monies can be spent for other uses. 

In 2018, Amherst’s Town Meeting appropriated $30,000 for repairs to the Fort River Elementary School roof but the work has not yet been done and the question was raised whether the money can still be spent and if the repair work has been scheduled.  Morris responded that District facilities staff have been patching both the Fort River Elementary School and Amherst Regional Middle School roofs this summer. He also indicated that skylights at Crocker Farm that have been leaking are also having their seals repaired.  The FY20 capital budget included $100,000 to replace approximately 40 problematic skylights at Crocker Farm but the District has decided to repair rather than replace them at this point.

Middle School Notifications

Chris Hockman of Pelham asked about several incidents that occurred at ARMS this past school year and asked for an explanation of District policies.  Morris said that during an all-7^th grade activity in the spring, a student fell and lost consciousness, an event witnessed by a large number of students.  An ambulance was called to the scene, the Superintendent notified, and an email sent to parents/guardians to notify them (including that the student in question was okay). 

Another incident involved a physical altercation between two students. Hockman showed an Amherst Bulletin Police Log showing an assault was reported after the school day to the police. He wondered what determines when police are notified by school staff and when  parental notification is warranted. Morris replied that this incident had far fewer witnesses, impacted only a handful of students, and was managed by school staff. 

Vaping

The third incident at the Middle School involved students vaping in bathrooms.  Morris reported that students had complained to school staff that they did not feel comfortable using the bathrooms because of the vaping going on there.  In response, staff were stationed outside the first floor bathrooms nearest the cafeteria during lunch time and the second floor bathrooms were closed, the thought being that the only reason for students to seek these more out of the way, unmonitored bathrooms at that time would be to vape.  There were conflicting reports about whether the closure occurred for all or part of the day. Hockman recommended installing vape alarms and loss of privileges for offenders rather than limiting the availability of bathrooms. 

Morris reported that his communications with other Districts suggested that vape alarms were ineffective as students learned how to disable them and suspension created a punitive environment that was not producing the desired results.  He hoped that the District’s anti-vape curriculum, a middle school health education program (CATCH), would have a positive impact as students became more aware of the risks associated with vaping.  The District is considering adding the elementary aged portion of this program and has recently been awarded a 5-year grant for a nurse manager at the middle school who would provide mandatory intervention for those found to be vaping.