Holyoke Mayor Terence Murphy announced Monday that he is accepting applications from city residents willing to serve on the School Building Committee – a 10-12 person body that will finalize a proposal to build a new middle school.
"This is a chance for Holyoke to do something positive, to do it and afford it and to make sure every child we have in Holyoke has a chance to get an excellent education and that's the goal," Murphy said.
The application deadline is August 30th.
Murphy said he intends to appoint a committee that reflects the city’s diverse population and differences of opinion. He said he plans to name the committee members by September 13th.
Murphy, a City Councilor who was appointed to fill the un-expired term of former Mayor Alex Morse, said he will discuss his proposed appointments to the committee with the candidates for mayor in this year’s election (Murphy is not running) but he said they will not have a veto.
"I would encourage whoever happens to be elected that you take this as a priority," Murphy said. "This is something the mayor needs to be actively involved in and needs to be a leader for the community."
The push to build a new school in Holyoke comes two years after voters soundly rejected a referendum to raise property taxes to construct two new middle schools.
Earlier this year, the Holyoke City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution endorsing a plan to build one middle school for 550 students. The Massachusetts School Building Authority has Holyoke in a queue for funding the project.
Murphy said that in the opinion of the city’s bond counsel, the local share of the $60-$65 million project can be financed without a tax increase.
"People that were opposed to ( the 2017 debt exclusion referendum) were mostly on economic grounds<" Murphy said. "I never heard anybody say ' we don't want kids to get a good education.' I think this is a valid compromise."
The Holyoke Public Schools were placed under state receivership in 2015 after decades of falling graduation rates and student test scores.
School Superintendent Anthony Soto said students need facilities conducive to learning.
"Our students deserve the conditions in the school that show them we really value them," Soto said. "Our students deserve it just as much as surrounding communities that are getting new buildings."
Soto said the goal is to open a new middle school in 2025.
Holyoke Mayor Terence Murphy announced Monday that he is accepting applications from city residents willing to serve on the School Building Committee – a 10-12 person body that will finalize a proposal to build a new middle school.
"This is a chance for Holyoke to do something positive, to do it and afford it and to make sure every child we have in Holyoke has a chance to get an excellent education and that's the goal," Murphy said.
The application deadline is August 30th.
Murphy said he intends to appoint a committee that reflects the city’s diverse population and differences of opinion. He said he plans to name the committee members by September 13th.
Murphy, a City Councilor who was appointed to fill the un-expired term of former Mayor Alex Morse, said he will discuss his proposed appointments to the committee with the candidates for mayor in this year’s election (Murphy is not running) but he said they will not have a veto.
"I would encourage whoever happens to be elected that you take this as a priority," Murphy said. "This is something the mayor needs to be actively involved in and needs to be a leader for the community."
The push to build a new school in Holyoke comes two years after voters soundly rejected a referendum to raise property taxes to construct two new middle schools.
Earlier this year, the Holyoke City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution endorsing a plan to build one middle school for 550 students. The Massachusetts School Building Authority has Holyoke in a queue for funding the project.
Murphy said that in the opinion of the city’s bond counsel, the local share of the $60-$65 million project can be financed without a tax increase.
"People that were opposed to ( the 2017 debt exclusion referendum) were mostly on economic grounds<" Murphy said. "I never heard anybody say ' we don't want kids to get a good education.' I think this is a valid compromise."
The Holyoke Public Schools were placed under state receivership in 2015 after decades of falling graduation rates and student test scores.
School Superintendent Anthony Soto said students need facilities conducive to learning.
"Our students deserve the conditions in the school that show them we really value them," Soto said. "Our students deserve it just as much as surrounding communities that are getting new buildings."
Soto said the goal is to open a new middle school in 2025.
