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Committee chooses lease‑modification approach for Wilbur Middle School in regional agreement update
Summary
Faced with options to buy the Wilbur Middle School building, the Hampden‑Wilbraham School Committee voted 6–1 to pursue a lease‑modification option and to send that proposal to member towns and state reviewers.
The Hampden‑Wilbraham Regional School District School Committee voted 6–1 on Jan. 9 to pursue a lease‑modification approach (option 3) in the district’s regional agreement as a way to address how middle‑school education is organized and financed, rather than assuming ownership of the Wilbur Middle School building.
The committee reviewed a legal memo outlining three choices: keep the status quo, assume ownership of the building, or modify the lease to grant the district needed programmatic flexibility without taking on full ownership. Members discussed borrowing authority, assessment impacts for member towns, and the longer‑term consequences of owning a building that requires capital work.
A prior motion to have the district purchase Wilbur Middle School (option 2) failed on a recorded roll call, 1–6. Supporters of purchasing argued that ownership would allow the district to borrow directly for repairs and capital projects; opponents warned that acquiring the building would saddle one town with a large share of long‑term capital burden and could complicate intermunicipal relations.
After debate, the committee voted to advance option 3 — revising the lease/agreements so the district can designate program locations and manage middle‑school programming without permanently acquiring the property — on a 6–1 roll‑call vote. The committee asked staff and the district’s counsel to float the chosen option to the member towns, work with Attorney Sweeney to draft language, and submit the revised agreement to the state for legal review.
Committee members emphasized that the decision is a step in a multi‑stage process: towns must review the proposal, DESE must conduct legal review, and the committee may need to vote further if DESE requests changes. The committee also discussed the need to add clarifying language to preserve the district’s ability to run innovative eighth‑grade programs at the high school campus without violating terms on where students in grades 6–12 attend school.
