Granby01033

School condition and functionality can influence student learning, either positively or negatively [or not at all].
The National Academies Press published a Review and Assessment of the Health and Productivity Benefits of Green Schools: An Interim Report (2006). The review was the study of the Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment (BICE), which represents the National [...] Read more »

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The Gazette reports that construction of Granby's Public Safety Complex is moving along on schedule. The Granby Police Department Blog has a picture.
"We're trying to get the building enclosed for the winter, so we can get inside for the inclement weather," Grassetti said. Construction slows and costs increase if work has to be done outdoors [...] Read more »

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There's a lot of buzz these days about town buildings. Committees are already scoping out their potentially new spaces. Townspeople are wondering if the town will purchase the Stony Brook building that once housed the camping club that is constructing new quarters up across from Phin's Hill.
The information I'm about to offer comes from my [...] Read more »

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At this point, town meeting is old news. Between computer problems and lack of time, I haven't had much time to blog about it. Granby residents with cable can watch the meeting on Channel 15.  For you out-of-towners, here's a snippet from the Daily Hampshire Gazette:

GRANBY - Cheers erupted and no vote count was needed [...] Read more »

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Without question, town meeting was overwhelmingly in favor of funding the feasibility study. Even with a secret ballot, there was no way there were the 150 people necessary to defeat the article.
Although the moderator (my dad) asked if anyone cared to challenge the vote, no one did. An exact count was unnecessary. It was clear the article won. There [...] Read more »

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For better or worse, I'll be able to relax tomorrow. I've worked on the feasibility study issue since I took office. It hasn't been a barrel of monkeys. Tonight we'll see where things stand. Mark Read more »

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I'm not the coroner. There's not going to be an official inquest. The body will not be dragged into Bones's office or be seen on Crossing Jordan. Jesus won't show up to perform a Lazarus-like miracle. And no one's going to haul in a dump truck full of pixie dust to spread around the body.
The educational complex is dead. It was designed [...] Read more »

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The so-called educational complex that was introduced back in 2003 was designed during a under a different process and a different authority.
Until 2004, the school building and reimbursement process was handled by the Department of Education's School Building Authority. That authority was poorly funded, and though the reimbursement rate was 90%, repayment from the state took a [...] Read more »

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All buildings will be studied, but any repairs, renovation, or new construction must involve the high school.
In other words...
Depending on the outcome of the feasibility study and what the MSBA and the Town of Granby agree to, we could end up doing anything from "necessary upgrades and code deficiencies," a partial or complete renovation of [...] Read more »

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Updated: 9/04/2009
I don't know what's going on at the Massachusetts School Building Authority, but a recent article in the Daily Hampshire Gazette contains some very misleading--in fact, incorrect-- information. I don't blame our reporter Stephen Hill, who does great work covering Granby, and besides the information appears in direct quotes from the MSBA spokesman.
The good news is the [...] Read more »

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You may have noticed I've been posting on Masslive in the last few days. The misinformation reached a high point this weekend, spread by one individual, and has since devolved into that individual creating additional names to agree with herself and call me a liar. Misinformation that goes uncorrected has a tendency to become accepted. It's [...] Read more »

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If you want to read through everything I've posted on the feasibility study, our school buildings, and the school buildings process, check out my archives here.
One of the more misleading assertions on Masslive is the idea that a school building complex will cost taxpayers a whopping $20,000-30,000 per property owner. This "estimate" is inaccurate for [...] Read more »

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By far, the most confusing the aspect of the school buildings project has been the feasibility study. Why, many people wonder, do we have to do a second feasibility study? There are two parts to the answer.
The first part of the answer is that a state moratorium on school building interrupted the process Granby began at the [...] Read more »

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Buying an existing building negates paying the prevailing wage that makes the construction of public buildings so expensive.  It also means we won't have to conduct expensive studies or hire an architect.
One of my friends and readers emailed to remind me that we avoid the costs of an architect and studies when we purchase a building [...] Read more »

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The previous design of an educational complex is by far the most confusing aspect of the whole school buildings process.  To complicate matters, the state evidently approved the existing complex in June. I was told as much at my select board meeting, and as Notameany points out on Masslive, it was mentioned at annual town [...] Read more »

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The Republican has an article on the Friends of the Educational Complex petition submitted at our select board meeting last Monday.  The title, which is not usually written by the reporter, has nothing to do with the article, which contains a notable error: there is no proposed building project. 

GRANBY - More than 400 signatures have been garnered on a [...] Read more »

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What's informative about the Republican's article on Minnechaug Regional High School's replacement? A lot, actually.
Minnechaug is a larger than both East Longmeadow and Longmeadow High Schools, much larger the Granby High School. I can't find the statistics, but if my recollections are correct, Minnechaug has over 300 students per grade,  about the total number of high school [...] Read more »

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Building Inspector Don Demers gave me some information on bringing buildings up to code. I don't have all the documentation yet. I don't know what qualifies as a building system, and I don't have a list of what all the school building deficiencies, though a portion of them are listed here. Anyway, here's what I have so far:
Making Buildings Handicap [...] Read more »

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The Gazette's Stephen Hill has a good article on Monday's select board meeting. Here's an excerpt:

GRANBY - Supporters of expanding and renovating the town's schools will circulate a petition calling for a Town Meeting to approve spending $367,000 for a feasibility study required to receive state school building assistance.
The petition, if 100 signatures are gathered, would force [...] Read more »

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I read Masslive daily. I don't post much anymore. The comments concerning the feasibility study were very enlightening, and though I can't prove it, a cross-section of public opinion.
I was, however, surprised to learn that Granby was scheduled to implode last night. As a selectman, I wasn't aware of anything scheduled for the meeting that [...] Read more »

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