Question:

Hello. Where can I find detailed language regarding the rule that the existing JBMS cannot exceed 30% of its value in repairs before losing
grandfathered status? If you are unsure, can you point me to the appropriate authority that would have this info? Thank you!

Answer:  During the PDP submission to the MSBA the Jabish Middle School Code Report was submitted to MSBA this along with the below pictures should answer your questions with regards to the 30% threshold.   In M.G.L. Chapter 148, Section 26G will discuss the fire protection threshold of 33%; in 521 CMR it will discuss the Accessibility 30% threshold and in the Code Report you can find the Energy Code implications.

Question:  I have heard that BHS was built with a large enough capacity to house Middle and High School.  Is that possible?

Answer: 

It is accurate that the existing high school was originally designed for 1000 students.  Enrollment has declined over the past 20 years, however additional classroom spaces have been required for Special Education, ELL, World Language and student support spaces.  The needs of specialized spaces are not what they were 20 years ago.  The current high school is currently utilizing 100% of the existing high school classrooms.

Using today’s MSBA guidelines for a new high school, a 600-student high school with comparable world language, ELL, PE, arts, music and special education programs would be a similar size to the existing 175,800 SF High School.

I hope this answers your question.  Please feel free to reach out if you need further information.

Question:  The proposed new school has a capacity of 475, an average of 158 per grade.  The “Summary of Interest Statement” states that there are currently 350 and 400 students at JBMS.  (150 or 200) students per grade.  Considering that the new school is for grades 6-8, is the proposed new school big enough to hold those three grades?  Further, I’ve seen in a FB post that the current enrollment at JBMS is 333 (average of 166 per grade), and that the enrollment at CHCS is 489 (average of 163 students per grade.) If those figures are correct, 333 + 163 +496, which is over the capacity of the proposed school with a capacity of 475.  Are we building a new school just to find ourselves in a predicament the first year we have an inordinately large class or just return to historic high levels of students? Thank you.

Answer:  The proposed school is fully in alignment with the MSBA guidelines for a grade 6-8 middle school for 475 students, and will also be able to accommodate the additional unique programs that currently exist at Jabish Brook Middle School, such as Special Education Life Skills, SAILS, and LLP, World Language, English Language Learner, and Music programs.  The design of the school and the learning spaces is highly flexible, which will allow the classrooms to be used for any grade or discipline, to accommodate future changes in enrollment or teaching styles. The building design also allows for future expansion if necessary.

The following link is a useful resource  to explain how the MSBA determines the design enrollment:
https://www.massschoolbuildings.org/building/prerequisites/enrollment_methodology

Question:  what the difference would be per $1000 if it was 20 years instead of 30 year note?  How about the interest rate?  Can we pay off the 30
year note faster as a town with no prepayment penalty if we get more funds than expected or have extra money to put towards repayment?
Thanks

Answer:   The summary below for a 20 year bond vs a 30 year bond is based off the original information, which indicates 36% from MSBA and 122,600,000 total project funding…

For planning purposes, the estimated interest rate for a 20 year bond is 4.25% making the tax increase $2.71 per thousand. The average single family home is projected to be assessed at $400,000 for FY25. For that assumed average home value of $400,000 the tax impact attributable to the school project would be about $1,084 per year. Total interest cost for a 20 year bond would be around $40,026,654

For planning purposes, the estimated interest rate for a 30 year bond is 4.50% making the tax increase $2.21 per thousand. For the assumed average home value of $400,000 the tax impact attributable to the school project would be about $884 per year.  Total interest amount of the project for a 30 year bond would be around $66,291,544

Question:  Are any of the schools in jeopardy of loosing accreditation due to their deteriorating conditions?

Answer:   No.  The Belchertown Public Schools are not in jeopardy of loosing accreditation due to deteriorating conditions.

Question:  I have looked through the 1780-page MSBA Feasibility Study Preliminary Design Program (PDP) for Jabish Brook Middle School.  I cannot find
ANY reference at all to examining alternatives other that repairing the current building or building a new building on the same site.
I plan on attending the meeting on the 23rd these are some of the questions I am hoping to get answers to.

As CHCS was build, then Swift River, and then the new BHS we, the  taxpayers, were all told that these buildings were designed to be able
to expand and be added on to as our needs changed. The town also owns undeveloped land near the CHCS, SRE, BHS campuses. Is it feasible for
a new school to be built on the same campus? Could the current JBMS and surrounding land be sold to help defer the cost of the new school?

Answer:  The Statement of Interest (SOI) submitted to the MSBA was for JBMS and acceptance into the Feasibility Study was based on the needs defined specifically for the Jabish Brook Middle School.

Despite alternate sites not being in the scope of work, the JBMS project team did conduct a brief review of one alternate location for a new Middle School – on property owned by the Town, located behind and somewhat adjacent to the High School.  This was deemed unsuitable due to the location (virtually landlocked) and potential wetland conditions.  Related reference is April 27, 2023 JB Building Committee Minutes, item #3. Also, reference Designer RFS Addendum #2 question #4, December 29, 2022.      

There were not any other sites available to consider nor was there any discussion related to renovating any other school in the District to accommodate a grade configuration which would eliminate Jabish Brook.

LPA|A has a conceptual expansion plan for the proposed JBMS that would expand the third floor by adding 4 classrooms on top of the two-story section of the SD design. This is about 4 classrooms or at most 100 students which is around 20% of the planned enrollment.

Question: The same with Cold Spring School? Could Cold Spring be converted into  the Central Offices? This would open up space at SRE that is currently
occupied by school administration. Center School could also be sold. Were any of the newer schools looked at for a potential reshuffling of
students and adding on as needed?

Answer:  In the current plan with moving students to SRE and a grade moving to CHCS and so on would allow the closure of Cold Spring School which will save the district around $450,000-$500,000 per year. 

Question: When SRE was built those of us who advocated for a three-story  traditional (box) school were told that a 2nd floor could be added to
SRE. Is this actually not the case?

Answer:  Without a full review of the previous architectural plans from the project, this determination could not be made.  In addition. This would be a whole separate project through MSBA as an Add/Reno to the current building.  The district would have to be accepted into the project and would have to go through with feasibility study at full cost to the district.  

We were also told the BHS could be added on to meet any future needs. (Well before the ‘campus’ of BHS was as it is today). Is this no
longer the case?

I realize that no architect wants to design another ‘box’ of a school but the new design for JBMS seems a little over the top.  Demographics: School enrollment has been going down each year.  The  average age (44+ yrs.) in Belchertown has risen significantly over the past 10 years with more than 20% being over the age of 60. The general population has decreased in recent years as well. This is not a unique issue to Belchertown these are national trends. People are having fewer children. How were population trends considered?

Answer:   The enrollment is established by the State (MSBA) and Belchertown Administration.  The decision to re-adjust the schools were based on the trending numbers.  By closing one school from the re-adjustment, the district will be able to close one building (Cold Spring) and give it back to the town for use in another manner to be determined by the Town Manager.

The new design was inspired by Belchertown’s needs and core values as well as complying the MSBA’s guidelines. The building’s placement and progression are developed over many public and end-user meetings over a 6-month period during the PDP & PSR phases overseen by the JB Building Committee.

I have no idea how I am going to vote yet but it does bother me that  the only choices we have been offered is build new or repair current
building. I think there are more choices. I am not suggesting that  they are viable options but I’d like to know why they weren’t even
looked at.

Answer: The MSBA Core Program has a prescriptive process that requires ALL districts to look at ALL repair, renovation, renovation and addition and new construction options in the Preliminary Design Program phase of the Feasibility Study. Options are to be evaluated objectively and clearly documented. MSBA, as a partner, conducts reviews and audits OPM and Designer work regularly.  Belchertown went through this PDP process in the Spring of 2023. Any options outside of MSBA’s programs would not be eligible for their grant funds. At this juncture, the vote is about accepting partnership with the MSBA to fund a new construction project. There are opportunities to make strategic cost control adjustments to the design in the next phase if the project moves forward.

 Please attend / contact the Jabish School Building Committee with any additional comments.

Question:  Based on the declining enrollment of Belchertown residents over the past years, is it possible to predict if, and when, the town will be
able to meet our educational needs with just the High School, Chestnut Hill, and Swift River?

Answer: 

In 2021, the Massachusetts School Building Authority projected enrollment trends in Belchertown over the next ten years.  Their methodology was very thorough (details are below), but even with good data and rigorous calculations, they didn’t project beyond ten years.  Unfortunately, there are just too many unknowns to be able to reliably predict enrollment trends beyond that point.

If there is a point in the future at which Belchertown Public Schools could manage with just BHS, CHCS, and SRE, it is likely so distant that we can’t project that far.  The MASB projections do, however, show several trends:

1. They believe that the decline in enrollment will slow down.  For example, between 2031 and 2032, they anticipated that enrollment would decline from 1,853 to 1,848, for a yearly loss of only 5 students.

In the three years since they published their analysis, enrollment has been significantly higher than they expected.  For example, they anticipated we’d have 1,988 students in 2024, but at present we have 2,081, so just three years after they made their projections, we currently enroll 93 more students than they expected.  

What we do know is that the MASB analysis wasn’t confident enough to project beyond ten years.  They anticipated total enrollment in the year 2032 of 1,848 students, which is beyond what we could likely accommodate in BHS, CHCS, and SRE.  And three years into their projections, their enrollment estimates would seem to be low — in 2024, we educate significantly more students than they anticipated.  So the experts who worked on this project can — at best — see only ten years out, and at that point in time, it does not appear that we could manage with just three buildings.

To give you a sense of the methodology behind MASB’s projections, I’ll paste an overview from their report below.  Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any other questions.

=========EXCERPT FROM MSBA REPORT===========

The MSBA, with the assistance of its consultant, developed a data driven enrollment projection methodology based on the modified grade-to-grade  cohort survival methodology (“enrollment methodology”). The MSBA’s enrollment methodology generates a baseline enrollment projection using  historic enrollment data (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education), birth data (Massachusetts Department of Public Health), female  population data (US Census Bureau) and female population projections (University of Massachusetts’s Donahue Institute, “UMDI”) as follows:   

– Birth and female population data are used to calculate fertility rates;   

– Fertility rates are applied to actual and projected female populations;   

– Birth data and Kindergarten enrollment data is used to calculate an average birth-to-kindergarten ratio;   

– The birth-to-kindergarten ratio is applied to actual and projected births to generate Kindergarten enrollments;

 – Historic enrollment data is used to calculate average grade-to-grade survival ratios (the proportion of students enrolled in one grade and  school year to the number of students enrolled in the next grade and school year) to project the number of students in each grade; – Grade-to-grade survival ratios are applied to actual and projected student enrollments to generate grade 1-12 enrollment projections; and,   

– The baseline enrollment is calculated using the 10-year average of projected enrollments for the grades to be considered in the proposed feasibility study.

Question:  At the meeting on Thursday, someone compared the new Jabish Brook plans to the “Rolls Royce of middle schools.” That comment made me wonder how much other recent middle schools in the state have cost.

Holyoke is building their new middle school right now. It’s designed for 550 students (i.e., more than Jabish), but it has a total expected cost of only 85.5 million, and the town is only going to have to cover
27 million of that (the rest will be covered by MSBA). In contrast, Jabish is expected to cost 122.6 million total, with 74.6 million covered by the town.

Can someone help me understand why our new middle school would cost Belchertown almost 3x as much as Holyoke’s new Middle school will cost Holyoke, in spite of being smaller?

Answer:  

The project in Holyoke is a model school.  The City has been pursuing this project since 2013 and has not been able to get it to move forward because of cost to the District so we have no way of knowing what design elements have been adjusted to work with their budget.  The delivery method is 149/DBB not CMAR/GMP.  They bid and procured the early site work August 2023.  The project broke ground this past March so not sure if the new energy and building codes upgrades that went into effect last summer apply (would have already been well into design).  One recorded public presentation shows that they are going to demo the existing school and then build new in the same location.  There are no athletic fields in the scope of work as there are existing fields adjacent to the project.

No 3011 or PFA documents are posted to see the total project costs.    

 Also, the reimbursement rate applied to the City of Holyoke is far higher than Belchertown and they received additional school funding authorized by the legislature based on need.  This results in an effective reimbursement rate of 64% with their anticipated share around $27m.

 LPA|A has been designing schools for decades and the materials used are selected for durability, ease of maintenance, and sustainability. Auburn Middle School is of comparable building size and level of finishes, student enrollment, and sitework scope (fields, driveways, parking, landscaping, etc.) and was $335/sf, but 10 years ago. Construction costs have been trending upwards more aggressively since COVID in 2020. You can refer to a comprehensive list of Core Program costs on MSBA’s website:

 https://info.massschoolbuildings.org/TabPub/TableauCostData.aspx

 For JBMS, should the project proceed, there are opportunities for the JBMS Building Committee and the project team to verify scope and pursue additional cost control or reductions. The overall costs are not finalized; however, the anticipated costs include higher than typical sitework costs (for developing all roadwork, parking, multi-use fields. The offsite water main improvements and roof top solar array system are significant costs currently included in the project budget.) At the time of this response, additional participation from MSBA on Core Academic and Special Education eligible spaces are trending favorably for an increased grant amount.

Question:  I am 100% in favor of a new JBMS, but I am feeling uncertain on the cost of the proposed plan and wondering if there is a way to vote “yes” to a new school, but “no” to the current proposal. Are there any things that could be changed in the plan to reduce the cost and if so, how do we make that happen?

Answer:  

The conceptual development of design occurred in earlier phases in 2023. The selected design has been submitted to the MSBA along with the projected costs. The project team has work to include all possible costs because the MSBA sets their maximum grant (now) at the conclusion of Schematic Design. These include off-site water line improvements, a roof top solar array that are not common in other projects. There will be opportunities to verify material selections, kick-off value engineering (VE) activities, set cost reduction targets to control cost and balance along with recognized savings if the project moves forward. However, the design as it relates to meeting the educational program cannot significantly change or it will be subject to additional MSBA review and potentially reduced reimbursement. Any scope not related to the education plan can be included on the VE list. Again, MSBA shares in savings or cost reductions and they would adjust the grant amount accordingly.

Question:  Hi there, can you please show an example of what the borrowing structure looks
like for a construction project like this and when the projected tax increases will start?  It sounds like some believe that it’s 100% this year which per the building committee brochure is not accurate.  An example would be helpful.  Thanks!

Answer:  

 LPA|A is not familiar with any expansion opportunities or possibilities at the high school.

 Alternatives site analysis is required in the PDP phase of the Feasibility Study or module 3 of MSBA’s process. The JBMS project team did conduct a brief review of one alternate location on property owned by the Town, located behind and somewhat adjacent to the High School.  This was deemed unsuitable due to the location (virtually landlocked) and potential wetland conditions.  Related reference is April 27, 2023 JB Building Committee Minutes, item #3.

The scenario to expand the high school was not an option LPA|A studied. However, any major addition or relocation of the JBMS would impact vehicular circulation, parking, but also the use and retainage of ball fields.

 The current proposal is to replace the middle school with a new building next to the current JBMS that will serve grades 6, 7 and 8.

Question:  Can the town meeting and Vote on the proposed new JBMS be postponed until after the June 26 meeting at the state level so that we know
what percentage the state will reimburse the town for the school?

Answer: 

Due to scheduling restrictions the vote/town meeting cannot be moved.

Question:   Why is the town vote to approve the new school being held before the State votes on what the reimbursement amount will be?

Answer:  

A request to have the Town vote prior to the MSBA Board meeting was made to the MSBA September 2023 after considerable discussion with the Jabish Brook School Building Committee.  It was determined at that time in order to maximize participation and public support, the two elections should be held on June 17th and 24th. 

• Public participation and voting turnout is very low during the summer.  Any vote after the end of June would conflict with families’ summer vacations and activities which will further limit participation.
• There are similar concerns with scheduling the two required meetings during the month of August 2024.
• The State primary election currently scheduled for September 2024 and cannot include the Town vote (the Belchertown Clerk was informed by State Officials that the JBMS Building Project vote cannot be added to the September ballot).
• The MSBA vote requirements per Module 5 states the vote must take place within 120 days of the MSBA board approval, making the final date for approval October 24, 2024 unless an extension is granted. Holding two votes in October would conflict with the Town’s preparation for the November 2024 Presidential election and further delay the vote and project.
• Most significantly, extending the time between the MSBA PS&B approval date and the required Town votes will substantially increase project costs, put the design on hold, and ultimately push the construction of the project out by an equal or longer period of time. Currently the schedule and plan for construction is to start June 2025 with completion August 2027 in time for the 2027-2028 school year to begin. Delaying these Town votes beyond the summer months could have a profoundly negative impact on the timely opening of the 2028 academic year.

Question:  Stemming off a previous question/answer:  “However, the design as it relates to meeting the educational program  cannot significantly change or it will be subject to additional MSBA review and potentially reduced reimbursement“

Can you please clarify what exactly is involved in the educational program?  Aka what are the controls the public can request to delete from the current proposed plan to make it a little more cost effective?

Answer:  To support the response to this question I have attached two documents from our submissions:

1. Designer response to Educational Plan-which shows (in blue text) how the preferred solution addresses the Educational program
2. Educational Program Narrative, which is a summary or simplified version that was submitted as part of SD.

The educational program is a result of numerous community visioning sessions, and educational program meetings with district and school staff, students, parents and community partners.