Franklin County Technical School MSBA Project FCTS MSBA Project The full FCTS MSBA Project. Show Transcript you may have heard that Franklin County Technical School was accepted into the Massachusetts school building authorities core program to consider the renovation addition and or replacement of our school the msba process is like a marathon it takes persistence endurance and a dedicated program that takes years to achieve in this video series we will share the opportunity our communities have to secure tens of Millions of dollars in state funding to support the project money that won't come out of our local tax dollars show the existing conditions of Franklin County Technical School which led our district leadership to pursue msba funding explain how we got to this point in the process including how we've listened to the community to Envision what a new or renovated Franklin County Technical School could provide to our students outline the project scope and budget of our preferred construction option and explain how the project only moves forward with Community authorization in special Town elections on October 6th Franklin County Regional Vocational Technical district has a rare opportunity to renovate or replace Frank County Technical School through the msba the msba is a state Authority that helps local school districts pay for the design and construction of schools everyone in the Commonwealth helps fund this process with 1 Penny of our 6 and a quarter percent sales tax the msba has funded more than 17 billion dollars in Statewide School construction since 2004 the program is highly competitive only about 15% of school districts that apply are accepted each year the process is like a Marathon involving years of dedication to determine the most fiscally responsible solution for the future of each School building since our acceptance it to the program we hired an owner's project manager who keeps the project on time and on budget as well as the design team of Architects and Engineers who evaluate every possible solution weighing the pros and cons of each the payoff for this work is significant by completing the msba marathon Franklin County Technical School can have up to 60% of it's eligible costs reimbursed by the msba as well as additional incentive points for our maintenance work in Green School initiatives that's up to 113 million dollars to Aid the project that won't come out of our local tax assessments Franklin County submitted a statement of interest to the msba to enter into its core program because Franklin County Technical has reached the end of its useful life opened in 1975 Franklin County Technical School a decade of service to our community and while our facilities department has done its best to maintain the building its Patchwork of additions Renovations and repairs cost our towns more and more money each year the most recent building issues include a complete roof replacement after 2 previous roof related projects in the last 30 years full replacement of our aging electrical system which has already seen $300,000 in repairs replacement of the building's original underground plumbing water and sewage systems abatement of hazardous materials such as asbestos oil and chemicals that could create environmental risks and addition of a fire sprinkler system to meet modern Fire Safety Code outdated Building Systems have the potential to cause power outages significantly disrupting the operation of the school and Beyond its physical deterioration and the threat of additional unseen repairs and failures Franklin County Technical School will no longer meet the minimum expectations of a 21st century education that we want to deliver to our students to prepare them for the workforce of Tomorrow existing classrooms and shops are overcrowded and present safety and educational problems there's no group space for collaboration or interdisciplinary projects and the building layout isn't designed for school safety where Public Access should be limited to only where it is welcome here's how we got to the key step of Community authorization of a new Franklin County Technical school msba project the school was first accepted into the msba core program in May 2024 it took about 11 months to meet eligibility requirements this included creating Google building committee made up of school and town leaders as well as community volunteers to oversee our project team and to invite public feedback our Regional School District also approved funds for a feasibility study this is money our project manager and design team will use to evaluate every possible option for the repair renovation or replacement of the school we also held dozens of listening sessions public meetings and breakouts including an educational visioning program which the msba requires to allow our educators staff and Community to share their hopes for what an improved Franklin County Technical School could provide feedback included education that promotes access collaboration and safety Community engage value maximized through cost-conscious design pragmatic sustainability focused on reducing long-term costs and facility character rooted in place and purpose our project team took this public input to evaluate dozens of potential scenarios from basic repair of the school to renovation to complete replacement ultimately narrowing the list down to 8 feasible options our school building committee selected new construction as its preferred option because it mean all of the criteria are communities provided us in their feedback as well as addressing all of the space safety and systems deficiencies of the existing building we're simply repairing these deficiencies would not have qualified for any msba reimburse placing the entire burden on local taxpayers the schematic design of a new Franklin County Technical School takes public input and Community feedback to create a 21st century school to serve Franklin County well into the future it would be located east of the existing school where the baseball field is currently located this creates a more functional site with an improved traffic flow including separate cues for buses and cars the centerpiece is a student Commons and in Courtyard promoting collaboration and impromptu Gatherings inside and out dedicated clusters focused on cosmetology and culinary manufacturing Construction motive and Science and Technology surround this Central focal point across 2 floors vocation and Technology classrooms are interspersed along with integrated special education support the complete design also creates a more functional and accessible building for our community to use all of these key points of input and feedback are Community brought to us in the visioning process during our feasibility study of a new Franklin County Technical School project scope and budget for the new technical school Under the msba the total project budget is approximately 236 million this includes careful planning for Rising costs and environmental and construction contingencies if Franklin County authorizes the project the SBA would contribute up to 113.848% Franklin County's 19 member towns would be required to finance the remaining 122 million on local tax roll here's how we propose to pay for our portion which requires Community authorization in a town election on October 6th a debt exclusion which is the decision of each member Community increases taxes only by the amount of debt and expires once the bond is paid off a 30-year Bond using a conservative interest rate of 4 and 1/4 to 4 and 1.5% financing would be like a mortgage where even payments are made over time this approach provides predict ability for taxpayers and ensures future Generations who will benefit from the facility will also contribute an equal share we've also provided a tax calculator on the project website where you can enter your home's assessed value to calculate your estimated tax impact the msba process only moves forward with Community authorization from Franklin County voters special Town election is required to authorize the financing on October 6th Community authorization moves the technical school project to the next phase design Development and Construction documentation followed by bidding in late 2027 then construction with the goal of cutting the ribbon and occupying the new school in summer 6:30 the msba process ends without Community authorization Franklin County may only schedule another vote with the msba approval otherwise the msba involvement would cease and any future involvement project or repair effort would require the filing of a new statement of Interest by Franklin County we would then go back to the beginning of the process if and when the msba accepts us back into the program which is historically a 5 to 10 year process without the msba Franklin County will have to address the construction of the technical school through its regular Capital improvement process where taxpayers pay the full cost in Franklin County Regional Vocational Technical District our mission is to provide a high quality comprehensive educational experience to every student that provides a vital part of our Workforce Development for our local economy our msba marathon is critical to this Mission and you're a vital component to this process stay up-to-date on the Franklin County Technical school project on a dedicated website with frequently asked questions project documents and the latest information that's fcts new building project us
