School salary article could be on Westborough Town Meeting warrant

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School salary article could be on Westborough Town Meeting warrantBy Susan Gonsalves, Contributing Writer

Westborough – The spring Town Meeting warrant may feature an article from the School Committee seeking $421,000 to cover salaries from January to June 2021. The money is to fund “unanticipated staffing needs,” brought about because of COVID-19 and includes 15 positions, two tutors, one long-term substitute and money for special needs instruction coverage after the January break.

On Dec. 16, the School Committee voted unanimously to put the article forward, noting that the money would come from free cash. Superintendent Amber Bock said that the article could be passed over or reduced if CARES Act money or other funding becomes available.

She noted that staff had to be hired to work on “dual platforms,” as a result of the pandemic with both hybrid and remote learning taking place. She said that COVID-19 relief funds abruptly stopped in the middle of the school year, putting Westborough in a situation that is not unique.

Westborough School Committee Chair Kristen Vincent said there is always a hope that federal grants and additional aid will come through “to mitigate or help take care of” paying personnel. Relying on limited town funds “is our worst-case scenario,” Vincent said.

The next step is moving the article to the finance committee for review.

Three school-related capital item requests may also go on the warrant as part of the capital planning expenditure committee’s proposal.

Bock said that the capital committee considered a 14-item list and focused on three for this year.

Robert Ferguson, director of buildings and grounds for the school district, noted that the design and installation of a sprinkler system at Elsie A. Hastings Elementary School has an estimated cost of $750,000 based on bids of other projects.

If the request is slated for the warrant, that project would go out for bid between now and spring Town Meeting and a precise “true’ dollar amount” recommendation will be included.

A previous Town Meeting approved money to upgrade the HVAC system but the sprinkler project must happen first.

A second request involves the removal and replacement of two high school gym partitions at a cost of $297,805. Ferguson said that number comes from the vendor that does maintenance on the structure and cited liability and safety concerns as reasons why maintenance could not continue.

Finally, the third proposal is to revamp the women’s softball field at the high school at an estimated cost of $200,858. The project includes excavating, installing dugouts and fencing and irrigation system work.

Ferguson said the town could save money by having things done in-house and saving on engineering costs, plans, etc.

He was told to get bids for every task included in the project for an exact estimate.

 

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