REGIONAL

The Region 4 School District feels confident that the board will have the financial capacity to see through three major projects for Valley Regional High School (VRHS) and John Winthrop Middle School (JWMS), according to education officials.

The three major projects on the district’s plate include $9.9 million upgrades to both high school and middle school athletic facilities, the construction of a security vestibule at JWMS, and the remediation of mold at the middle school.

The Reg. 4 Board of Education was joined by Barry Bernabe of its municipal advisors, Phoenix Advisors, at its March 4 budget workshop. Bernabe proposed a strategy that could finance all three projects to be worked on simultaneously over a multi-year period, while having as little impact on the budget as possible.

Bernabe proposed to the district that in order to maintain a short-term impact on its budget, the $9.9 million bond for the athletic fields could be reduced to $7 million. Through a short-term note, this would provide access to all necessary funds that district voters have approved for the JWMS security project, as well as the requested funds for the mold remediation at the middle school. This will be decided by voters at a Tuesday, March 26 referendum.

“This note would ultimately become a bond issuance next year, for whatever the net project costs are for both of the JWMS projects, as well as the balance of the fields project, assuming those additional funds are still necessary to complete the fields projects,” said Superintendent Brian White.

The district is hopeful that it will receive state grant assistance for both of the JWMS projects. This could help when it comes to “lowering the total amount that would be bonded next year,” added White.

“We are committed to finding additional cost savings and efficiencies as we execute all of this work to help save money for Region 4 and the towns,” White said.

If voters approve the mold remediation project and the strategy is executed as proposed, “There would be essentially no change in debt service next year,” said White. An anticipated total increase in debt services of $429,850 would make its short-term impact on the budget starting in the 2025-’26 fiscal year. According to Bernabe, it is projected that the district will see a $65,525 increase in debt service that year. There is also a potential increase of $246,600 in the 2026-’27 fiscal year and $118,200 in the 2027-’28 fiscal year. Following these increases, debt service would then decrease by a projected $31,800 annually, starting in the 2028-’29 fiscal year.

Considering the financial feasibility of the plan, White said that “the highest annual proposed debt service in future years for these three projects [$246,600] would still be lower than the annual debt service Region 4 paid for the last 20 years up through [fiscal year] 2021-’22, when the district’s three most recent bonds were beginning to be paid off.”

The district is determined to see substantial work on athletic fields over the spring, summer, and fall of this year and into 2025. If voters approve the March 26 referendum, the district is aiming to see the mold remediation complete by September 2024, in time for the 2024-’25 school year. On the security project at JWMS, White said the district’s architect “believes we will be able to complete most of the site construction by September 2024, in time for the 2024-2025 school year, as well.”

“They have advised that the elevator may take additional time to be delivered and installed, but the school would still be able to function while that final phase of work is completed,” added White.

Regarding the timeliness of the three major projects, White said that, “We believe all of these projects can be executed concurrently and independently of each other, without causing delays.”

White went on to state that, “If the JWMS mold project [is] not approved at referendum, then the JWMS security project would likely be put on hold until the future plans for the middle school are determined.”

The district’s overall budget stands at a proposed $23,160,335 for the 2024-’25 fiscal year. This represents a 6.02% increase of $1,315,761 compared to the current year budget of $22,254,390.

The district will hold a public hearing on the budget on Monday, April 1, and then the referendum on the budget will take place on Tuesday, May 7.