Monty Tech updates towns on MVP Academy, grants and athletic-field project

Monty Tech officials presented a summary of vocational programs, recent grant awards and capital work at the Select Board meeting on March 9.

Superintendent Tom Brown described MVP Academy, a partnership that brings juniors and seniors from sending communities to Monty Tech for workforce training on an A/B schedule; sending districts pay the difference in foundation rates. He highlighted a strong recent grant year (including Perkins and Skills Capital grants) that funded equipment and renovations, and said the school relies heavily on external grants to keep per-pupil local assessments lower.

Monty Tech also described a planned athletic-complex renovation (track, field, bleachers) to be financed through a 10-year tax-exempt lease; bids have been received and construction is intended to proceed after spring graduations to avoid schedule conflicts. Tom Brown said the project will require overlapping debt service in the short term but was structured to reduce one-time spikes in member-town assessments.

Officials also reviewed Monty Tech’s lottery changes for regional admissions (a statewide shift to a lottery system this year with attendance as a permitted weighting factor) and the school’s continuing-education and co-op placements for students.

What's next: Monty Tech will proceed with final bid decisions and will work with member towns on assessment impacts; the school is awaiting final state awards for some grants and expects to use grant proceeds and existing reserves to mitigate near-term assessment spikes.