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SPENCER – A metal roof, concrete sidewalks and a track, coated for longevity, that were initially cut from the David Prouty High School renovation project are now back in after voters at a special Town Meeting Thursday (Feb. 15, 2024) agreed to use a unique state grant to upgrade the project and reduce its impact on their taxes.
Voters in Spencer and East Brookfield approved the $111,587,000 David Prouty renovation project in 2022 after years of complaints about the state of the building. As the project got underway, it became clear that inflation was going to cause the work to come in over budget and school officials scaled back.
The problem wasn’t unique to the Spencer – East Brookfield School District and the Massachusetts School Building Authority, for the first time ever, revisited the funding for about 30 projects, awarding grants to supplement the project budgets.
The Prouty project received an additional $7.1 million but voters needed to decide whether to use all, some or none of the money knowing that whatever was leftover would reduce the tax burden from the project.
In the end, voters agreed to the school department’s proposal to add in $4.5 million for items they felt had the most impact on the student experience, contributed to the school being a community facility and reduced future maintenance costs, school business administrator Gary Suter explained.
The motion passed 122 to 23.
The remaining $2.7 million will reduce the tax burden from $693 for the entire project with all of the initial accouterments included, to $666 using the $4.5 million. The estimates are for a home valued at $336,510, the average valuation in Spencer, Suter said.
While the article was confusing: spend more and reduce taxes, and local officials have struggled to explain that concept.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Suter told more than 100 voters at the meeting. “I’m from the government, I’m here to help.”
Voters also agreed to fund a request from the town’s fire department in order to increase the wages and general expenses line items. They also agreed to add money to the so-called Reserve Fund which is used for unforeseen expenses.
