Published in the July 29, 2019 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – Now that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has accepted the Greenwood School roof replacement into its Accelerated Repairs program, school administrators last week explained how they expect the process to play out. The state is now expected to pick up about half the cost of the roof replacement, saving the town up to $500,000.
School Superintendent Douglas Lyons assured the School Committee and the public that the MSBA’s agreeing to help with the Greenwood roof won’t affect the town’s application to the MSBA for help in addressing the needs at Wakefield Memorial High School. Those are two separate MSBA programs with different pots of money, Lyons explained, and each is judged on its own merits.
Lyons said that as the next steps for the Greenwood roof project, the MSBA requires that the town hire an “Owner’s Project Manager” (OPM) and develop schematic plans.
For now, the School Department will use $100,000 from its “Extraordinary Repairs Account” to fund the OPM and the design. They will then ask the Regular Town Meeting in the fall to reimburse that amount to the schools.
School Facilities Manager Bob Schiaroli elaborated that the town received word that the Greenwood roof project had been accepted by the MSBA on June 26. The town has 60 days from that date to come up with the money for an OPM and schematic design. So, there was not time to wait until the fall Town Meeting to appropriate the $100,000 for those purposes.
School Business Administrator Michael Pfifferling confirmed the timeline and noted that the School Committee still has two meetings in August when they can vote to take the $100,000 from the Extraordinary Repairs Account.
Schiaroli and Lyons said that they are shooting for next summer to do the Greenwood School roof replacement, assuming the process at the state level moves forward in an expeditious manner. If not next summer, it would be the summer of 2021, Lyons said.
—–
In other business last week, the School Committee approved tentative Collective Bargaining Agreements with the Wakefield Education Association Unit B and Unit C commencing on July 1, 2019 and Sept. 1, 2019, respectively.
—–
The School Committee agreed to the annual year-end transfer of funds, as recommended by School Business Administrator Michael Pfifferling.
To close Fiscal Year 2019, the School Committee approved the following surplus amounts to be transferred to other accounts: Special Education Tuition, $360,407; Utilities, $85,948; Heating Fuel $65,892; Clerical Salaries, $26,588; Postage/Tuition Reimbursement, $12,661; Vehicle Fuel, $9,788; Transportation, $8,666; Staff Development, $4,867; Textbooks, $4,579; Contracted Services, $4,513; Library Books/Publications, $1,078.
The total “transfer from” amount was $584,986.
That surplus will be transferred and applied to the following accounts: Aides Salaries, $167,066; Instructional Supplies, $112,683; Extraordinary Maintenance, $90,206; Facilities/Custodial/Drivers Salaries, $71,405; Professional Salaries, $52,087; Substitute Salaries, $35,718; Building Maintenance, $27,498; Extra Curricular/Coaches’ Salaries, $16,943; Equipment Maintenance, $9,785; Professional Expenses, $1,036’
The total “transfer to” amount was $584,426, leaving an anticipated $560 in funds to be returned to the Town for FY 2019.
