Board moves closer to decision on construction bond proposal
Sept. 11, 2021 | By Lisa Scagliotti
The Harwood Union School Board meets in person and via Zoom on Sept. 8. At right, Facilities Manager Ray Daigle discusses the project. Screenshot
Asked to weigh in on whether the time is right to undertake major renovations to Harwood Union High School and expand Crossett Brook Middle School, 558 people across the school district weighed in on a recent survey.
When the Harwood Union School Board met on Wednesday to discuss the details of what they might put on a November ballot, however, just three people attended to offer feedback in real time.
Two high school basketball coaches, Tommy Young and Jay Bellows, came with a detailed response in support of the project including a second high school gymnasium. In addition, Duncan McDougall, the head of the nonprofit energy efficiency organization Waterbury LEAP, reminded the board that replacing the high school roof presents a opportunity to incorporate solar and green energy into the project.
Beyond that, the school board was left to pore over the results of the survey which includes 10 pages of written comments that run the gamut, offering views from rejecting any school construction now to welcoming the project – and a myriad of opinions in between.
Survey says …
The survey results showed the greatest consensus – 74% respondents – favoring holding a vote on the bond question in November.
On the question of dollar amounts respondents would support for the bond, the $60 million option which would cover the proposed package in full had the largest portion of support with 30%; the group saying it would not support any bond was next at 25%; options for both $50 million and $70 million came in just under 15% each and the $40 million option was preferred by 13%.
Strong majorities of respondents said that the condition of a school campus plays an important role in attracting and keeping families in the school district, attracting quality staff members to the school and providing good opportunities for students.
Three questions queried respondents on how they viewed specific elements of the project and whether including them made the project more or less attractive. People were about split on the second gym with just over 41% saying having it made them more likely to support the project and 39% said it would make them less likely to support the proposal. The track had just over 51% say its inclusion would increase their support for the bond while about 30% said it should not be included. The additional gathering spaces proposed for the Crossett Brook wing was attractive to 43% of those surveyed; 38% said it would make them less likely to support the package with it.
The feedback was key as the board is poised now to meet this week to make a decision on whether to put a construction bond question to voters on Nov. 2 and if so, how much to ask voters to approve.
Four spending categories
School leaders are reviewing a package that totals $59.5 million. It’s broken into four categories:
Compliance and repairs to the high school totaling just under $22 million. This category focuses on replacing or repairing elements of the building that have reached or exceeded their useful life as Harwood Union High School was constructed in 1965. It includes replacing the roof, ventilation, heating and cooling systems, electrical, plumbing, communications and security infrastructure. Other elements in place are no longer in compliance with modern codes or standards such as the science labs, vehicle storage in the building, and site features related to stormwater and the parking lot.
Efficiencies and upgrades to the high school totaling $14.3 million. This list addresses elements such as windows, lighting, insulation, dehumidification, that if replaced, would make great strides in saving energy and making the building more efficient. This also would consolidate more functions into the high school campus that presently are located elsewhere such as the district’s central offices that are in leased space.
Educational alignment at the high school for $17.2 million. This category looks to reconfigure spaces to allow for learning and activities to take place in groups of varying sizes. It would rebuild areas to add in windows to classrooms and offices that presently have no natural light. Science labs would be expanded and better ventilated; classrooms would be realigned into subject areas such as STEM and humanities, while others would be configured just for ninth graders. This category includes building a new gym for $5.7 million and rebuilding the school’s long-outdated gravel track across the street for $2.88 million.
Middle school expansion at Crossett Brook costing $6 million. A key part of this entire proposal is the merging of seventh and eighth grades at Crossett Brook to free up space at the Harwood Union facility. Adding approximately 100 more students to Crossett, however, will necessitate adding classrooms and spaces for gathering within the school.
Board members discussed each category with project designers from Truexcullins Architecture and ReArch construction management. There was broad support for the first two categories of work.
The conversation around testing for PCB contamination was left to be continued this week. Project designers explained that the budget allows for some PCB testing and remediation. There is new interest and some funding on the horizon from the state to test in schools built before 1980 that used materials that contained the hazardous chemicals. District Facilities Manager Ray Daigle recommended waiting to test as the project proceeds. He also offered explanations on the types of testing available. Air sampling, for example, would cost about $20,000 but would only indicate widespread contamination; targeted testing on specific materials would reveal contamination in areas that would be disturbed by construction.
“We will be required to do testing prior to any demolition,” he said.
The third category brought more questions, particularly around the gym and track pieces. Other concerns arose regarding the extent of the Crossett Brook work, whether the project should be proposed as a single bond or in multiple questions. Some posed questions about steps to take should the bond fail such as whether and how to fix immediate needs at the high school such as the roof.
Waterbury’s newest board member Scott Culver, who was appointed this summer, works in the construction industry and shared some of his ambivalence toward the project. “Some of it concerns me. Some of it excites me,” he said. “I’m really on the fence being the newest board member in here.”
He called the proposal “realistic” yet “a big dollar value” which will need clear explanation to “the people that voted for us to be inside in this room.” He suggested the proposal may need some adjustments before a bond amount is finalized. “We’ve got to work real hard to make sure that we hit this on the head the first time,” he said.
The project timeline moving ahead after November if a bond is approved calls for construction to begin at Crossett Brook in 2022 with work ending at Harwood in 2025.
Decisions needed this week
The board meets this Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. in the Harwood high school library in person where the public is welcome to attend; masks are required. There also is the option to join in via Zoom or watch on YouTube. Comments may only be made in person or via Zoom.
Wednesday is the date by which a decision is needed from the board to meet election deadline requirements. If the board moves ahead with the November ballot, voters in the district’s six communities would be able to vote early as soon as the first week of October.
The Sept. 8 meeting was recorded and available to watch on Mad River TV or the district’s YouTube channel. The Sept. 8 board meeting packet contains the survey results including comments as well as other details for the building proposal discussion.
On Sept. 9, reporters from the Valley Reporter and Waterbury Roundabout had a follow-up interview with school board Chair Torrey Smith from Duxbury and Vice Chair Tim Jones from Fayston. The Valley Reporter hosted on Zoom and that recording is available to view below.
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