Regional panel backs lease plan for sixth-grade relocation in Amherst

AMHERST — With Amherst sixth graders to be educated in classrooms at the Amherst Regional Middle School this fall, the Regional School Committee is giving the go-ahead for determining an appropriate lease arrangement for use of the space.

The committee, in an 8-1 vote Monday, authorized Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman and an elected committee representative to work with the district’s legal counsel to develop an amendment to the regional agreement. That amendment will allow a price to be set and a lease signed so vacant classrooms can be converted into the Chestnut Street Academy.

Currently, the regional agreement between the towns of Amherst, Shutesbury, Pelham and Leverett has a provision for assessing a $100 per year cost for any classroom in the middle school for any outside entity. The Chestnut Street Academy will be part of the Amherst elementary schools, even though it is to be housed in the same building where seventh and eighth graders from the four towns are educated.

Herman said the committee vote allows her to start the leasing process and to getting the regional agreement amended to be in compliance with state law, with required approvals at annual Town Meetings in the smaller towns in May and by the Amherst Town Council before July 1.

“The goal would be to get the language through and passed. The language needs to be approved by all four towns at their Town Meetings,” Herman said.

While the current price of each classroom is $100 per year, Herman said there is wiggle room with the costs of utilities and maintenance to bump this up.

The committee, though, didn’t OK an immediate lease deal, even though Herman said this would mean revenue for the regional schools.

“It’s actually revenue that’s being generated, and there are other charges we’d be able to input,” Herman said.

But committee members were reluctant to approve that.

“I would be really afraid of the costs, the cost is going to exceed $100 per year per room, and then that cost is being sent out to Leverett, Pelham and Shutesbury,” said Pelham representative William Sherr. “I would be concerned to sign up for that.”

Shutesbury representative Anna Heard, too, said she doesn’t want to bind the district to renting for a “super under-rate charge”

Amherst representative Sarah Marshall, though, said it’s unclear if there are really any additional costs, observing that those rooms aren’t otherwise being used, and that not  executing a lease would jeopardize having the space ready for sixth-grade classes.

“That’s disastrous for the Amherst schools district,” Marshall said.

As part of the discussion, the committee also has to deal with an existing lease for the Amherst Recreation Department to continue to use space below the middle school gymnasium. That 10-year deal began on April 1, 2016, with a $10,218 annual contract to cover heat, lighting and maintenance, and expires June 30, 2026. That has allowed the department to operate after relocating from the Bangs Community Center.

Herman said that the Recreation Department lease is not covered by the $100 per classroom per year arrangement written into the regional agreement, because those offices are not in educational space.

Amherst representative Deb Leonard was the only member to vote against proceeding with revisions to the agreement, stating that there should be a first reading and more contemplation due to several aspects of the lease that are concerning.

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