Hopkinton taxpayers didn’t have the appetite for a $30 million bond last year for facility improvements at the town’s three schools, so the school board withdrew its proposal and went back to the drawing board.
Over the last year, the board and its steering committee assigned to focus on the project found ways to cut the price tag down to under $9.8 million, a figure that voters showed they were far more comfortable with at the annual school district meeting Saturday morning.
The bond passed with the support of 78 percent of the 652 voters present. The bond required a two-thirds majority. Voters also supported a $20.5 million budget, which received an additional $100,000 by amendment.
“It affirms that the residents of this community see the value in making sure our facilities are in good shape,” school board Chairwoman Elizabeth Durant said after the meeting adjourned. “The priorities the steering committee came to us with really spoke to what we needed to do. And the work that members of the community have done in the last few months to really learn more and become educated on the facility project has been tremendous.”
The project calls for improvements and updates at all three of the town’s schools.
One of the most pressing issues that the bond addresses is updating the science labs in the middle-high school, a major factor that put the district on probation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the accreditation body for New England’s public and independent schools. The science labs were last updated more than 20 years ago.
The project also entails additional classroom space at the lower-elementary school, Harold Martin, which has been dealing with an overcrowding issue in recent years, particularly since Hopkinton voters approved a full-day kindergarten program in 2014.
Enrollment in Hopkinton has been climbing steadily while the rest of the state has seen a drop. Classes sometimes spill into the hallways when there is not enough space.
The plan estimates that it will cost about $3.2 million to build the four additional classrooms.
Harold Martin is also slated to get additional work space for teachers and other faculty for about $250,000. The school will gain a conference room, which it does not have currently, as well as additional health services space.
Finally, the bond will allow the district to tackle a growing list of deferred maintenance projects totaling almost $2.7 million. All three schools need maintenance done on their roofs, the largest cost driver in the maintenance portion of the plan.
About $1.17 million will go into the high school to fix the roof and renovate the locker rooms, as well as putting in new windows and doors. About $804,000 will go into Harold Martin for the roof and other projects, and $583,000 will be spent at Maple Street School.
“People understand what needs to be done,” said Jay Burgess, who has led the steering committee focused on this project. “There’s still a lot of work to do. It will be nice to see a fully developed project come before the community again in hopefully the next year or so.”
The project will add about $1.15 per $1,000 of assessed property value to the tax rate, or about $345 a year for a home worth $250,000.
The following measures were also accepted by the voting body: $200,000 for the general contingency fund to cover “unanticipated expenses” during the school year; $22,398 to cover the estimated increase in teacher support staff salaries and benefits as part of a collective bargaining agreement reached this year; $140,562 for the school building repair and maintenance trust fund; and $15,000 for the district’s vehicle replacement capital reserve fund.
David Luneau, a member of the state House of Representatives, received a standing ovation when he stepped to the microphone to read the final warrant article. Luneau’s fourth term on the board expires this year and he is not seeking re-election.
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3321, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)