School committee reviews potential capital project
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

The Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School Committee voted to ask town officials in both Ashburnham and Westminster, to hold places on the fall town meeting warrants while they discuss a list of capital items that might need funding this fall.

Superintendent of Schools Michael Zapantis presented a list of capital projects to the committee at their Tuesday, Sept. 25, meeting, which total in value to $195,000. He proposed eight projects including repaving the driveway and parking lot of Overlook Middle School at $100,000 as well as exterior security cameras for Overlook and Oakmont schools and a gas fired hot water heater.

Earlier in the meeting, the committee officially voted to close out the building funds for the Westminster Elementary and Oakmont Regional High schools renovation projects. This returns $190,828.38 to the two towns with the Ashburnham receiving $82,088.43 and Westminster receiving $108,739.95.

The money was from interest earned on the money that was borrowed for the project during construction. Business Administrator Sherry Kersey said both all of the expenses for the project have been completed including all of the financing costs.

The towns will not see a check for the money but will instead see a reduction in their assessment for the 2008 fiscal year. Kersey and Zapantis said this is the only legal way to return the money.

Ashburnham Selectman Christopher Gagnon said the committee should simply ask voters to let the committee use that money to fund the capital projects.

"If it worked for the football field why wouldn't it work for this," Gagnon said. "This would not effect our budget. … This is money everybody forgot about. I forgot about it and I was on the building committee."

Westminster town officials attending the meeting did not respond to this suggestion.

The committee also discussed how to continue with the plans for the computer lease. They said it was important to continue but they weren't sure how the lease could be funded.

Committee members voted to put an article on the warrant allowing them to amend the operating budget to fund the first year of a third computer lease.

The committee is reviewing with legal counsel to determine if a computer lease has to be part of the operating budget or if it can be considered a capital request. The lease would be for approximately $22,000.

"How is this different for the two failed overrides," asked Jamie Rheult, a school committee member. "Is this going to be looked at as a third bite of the apple."

Committee member Laura Weiderman said doesn't know if she supports amending the operating budget.

"I don't know if I'm on board with that," she said.

Weiderman said she supported putting a place holder in the Ashburnham town meeting warrant list of articles until the joint discussion with the Selectmen and Advisory Board members.

Tata said she thinks her responsibility is to advocate for the best interest of the school district and if the voters do not support the request it is up to them.

Ashburnham will hold a special town meeting in the middle of November but is closing their warrant on Monday, Oct. 1. Westminster town officials have not set a special town meeting date or a date to close their warrant.

The school committee will meet formally with the Selectmen and the Advisory Boards members from both towns at their next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Overlook Middle School library.

In other business:

• Committee members voted to approve the contract with the Oakmont Pop Warner Organization to allow them to install lights on the Overlook Middle School practice field. The contract states the private organization will be responsible for all of the costs of the installation and the utility bill for the lights, until at least 2010 when the agreement would be reviewed.

If the lights are not maintained to the satisfaction of the school committee than the Pop Warner organization will be responsible for the cost of removing the lights.

Other organizations will be allowed to use the fields and the lights but the youth football organization will be granted first priority.

The agreement still needs to be signed by the Pop Warner organization.

• The school committee accepted gift from the Oakmont Booster Association and an anonymous donor to pay for the freshman football team. The freshmen, who have not been cut from the football program, will now get to five games against other freshman teams. The program was cut from the school district budget after the override failed in August. Students still have to pay the $100 fee for participating in the athletic program.

• The committee gave parents who asked about reinstating the freshman basketball programs until the beginning of November until secure the money to pay for the program from a private source.

The programs were cut from the school district budget after the override failed in August. Students will still have to pay the $100 fee for participating in the athletic program.