Saturday July 28, 2012

WILLIAMSTOWN -- The Mount Greylock Regional School District Building Subcommittee plans to begin exploring how to address the needs of the high school under two very different scenarios next month, all hinging on whether the school gets invited into the Massachusetts School Building Authority's capital pipeline in the fall.

Rose Ellis, superintendent of Williamstown and Lanesborough Public Schools, said Friday that she is optimistic that the school district will be invited into the program, but school officials need to be ready to know how they're going to deal with the high school's deficiencies if the district doesn't get invited.

"We're in the queue, and I'm thinking our time has come," she said. "We just have to wait and see what happens."

In December 2011, Mount Greylock filed a statement of interest (SOI) with the MSBA outlining several reasons why the school district needed a new or renovated high school. Those reasons included inadequate science labs; areas of the building not being in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and the wiring, ventilation and fire detection systems being original to the building, which was built in two portions in 1960 and 1968.

Ellis said this is the fourth or fifth time the district has submitted an SOI. On July 19, officials with the MSBA visited Mount Greylock to conduct a "senior study" of the high school as a follow-up to the school district's SOI.

Dan

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Collins, press secretary for the MSBA, said that as part of the visit, MSBA officials reviewed some of the details on the SOI with school officials.

"The SOIs are the first step in the MSBA process. We are currently in the process of reviewing SOIs that were submitted in 2011, including the one for Mount Greylock High. Projects deemed suitable for our program will be invited into our capital pipeline by a vote of the MSBA Board of Directors," he said.

Ellis said they won't know until the fall whether Mount Greylock has been approved for the next step in the program, which is the eligibility period. This involves a school district completing prerequisites, including a summary of the school district's funding and maintenance practices, and certifying that it understands the program's rules.

The MSBA board will determine which schools will be invited to take the next step in the program at its meetings on Oct. 3 and Nov. 16, Ellis said. Mount Greylock will be notified of the board's decision either way, she said.

To reach Meghan Foley,
email mfoley@thetranscript.com.