BARRE — The Barre Unified Union School District has received nearly $16.2 million in pandemic-related federal funding, spent a small fraction of it, earmarked most of it, but wildly underestimated the cost of the biggest ticket item remaining on a lengthy to-do list.
On a night when the School Board’s finance committee was told the district is poised to close the books on a fiscal year that ends next week with a $2 million surplus, members learned ventilation upgrades planned at its three schools will far exceed the initial $6.5 million estimate.
“We know now it’s going to cost more than that,” said Business Manager Lisa Perreault, suggesting the dated estimate might cover the cost of work planned at Spaulding High School.
The Spaulding project is, by far, the most expensive of the three because in order to upgrade the ventilation system state regulations suggest the sprinkler system must be expanded to cover the oldest portions of the school.
Perreault said that project alone could cost close to $6.5 million based on fresh estimates from Energy Efficient Investments Inc. (EEI), and when the price of upgrades planned at centralized elementary schools in Barre and Barre Town are included the combined cost is expected to be in the $10 million to $12 million range.
Perreault acknowledged that is significantly more than the $6.5 million figure for which the district has obtained conceptual approval from the state Agency of Education as part of its plan to use the latest, and largest, batch of funding that has flowed to the district as a result of the pandemic.
One option would be to complete some, but not all, of the work and, Perreault said, the three projects have been prioritized with that in mind.
The Spaulding project is viewed as the top priority, followed by upgrades to the ventilation system at Barre City Elementary and Middle School and then Barre Town Middle and Elementary School.
EEI is expected to provide the district with a report detailing the cost of the proposed upgrades, as part of a broader package of energy efficiency improvements it could also consider next month. That report will provide the information needed to refine cost estimates for the ventilation work and submit a revised plan to the state Agency of Education for its review and approval. Agency approval is a prerequisite for spending the federal funds the district has received since the start of the pandemic.
The first infusion of federal money, which was allocated under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, has been spent, but accounts for only $1 million of the $16.2 million the district was awarded.
According to documents reviewed by the committee, the district is in the process of spending a second batch of ESSER funds — nearly $4.7 million. Roughly half of that money — $2.3 million — has been earmarked for salaries and benefits for a range of positions, some of which have been filled and others that remain open. Some of the money — $655,000 — was used to to purchase instructional technology in addition to the $267,000 the district spent on similar equipment with the initial round of ESSER funds.
Other earmarked uses for the money include $650,000 that has been designated to underwrite a shrinking summer program that served 300 students last year and is expected to serve 100 this year. A third year is planned. The money is also being used to purchase a new math curriculum at an estimated cost of $175,000.
Planned uses for the money total a little under $4.3 million — more than $400,000 less than is available to the district. That money must be spent by Sept. 30, 2023.
Barring a change, the district has another year — until Sept. 30, 2024 — to spend the largest pool of ESSER money — nearly $10.5 million — it was awarded under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Among other things, plans for that money include another $1.9 million in salaries and benefits and $6.5 million the committee was told won’t be enough to cover ventilation upgrades at all three schools.
Perreault said Wednesday the district will have a clearer picture of how to proceed after receiving the report from EEI on July 25. She said it was too soon to rule out completing all three of the planned ventilation upgrades.
ESSER money aside, Perreault told the committee the district is on pace to post a surplus of roughly $2 million despite year-end projections that suggest the district will take in roughly $255,000 less than the $46.4 million in revenue it projected.
According to Perreault’s projections, expenses are expected to be $2.25 million under budget, with much of that savings associated with staffing changes and unfilled positions. When you factor in the reduction in revenue the district is looking at carrying an undesignated surplus of roughly $2 million into the fiscal year that starts a week from Friday.
Perreault said she was confident a soon-to-be-conducted audit would verify her projection.
“I do not expect there to be a big change in these numbers,” she said.
david.delcore @timesargus.com
