St. Johnsbury School officials hope voters will approve a $3 million bond so the facility can rely less on fossil fuels and bolster security in the wake of growing national attention on school violence.
The proposal is focused on two projects at the building — the town’s only public pre-K through 8 school — and will go to a vote Nov. 5.
District officials first want to outfit the school with a biomass-powered boiler for heating.
Superintendent Brian Ricca said the facility was originally built with three oil boilers so there would always be a backup. But one of the units no longer works.
The district wants to replace the broken boiler with one that runs on wood chips and pellets to serve as the building’s primary heating source, Ricca said.
“We would be moving away from a reliance on fossil fuels, which is obviously better for the environment, and then we would be back to having a good backup system in case any of our new options go down,” Ricca said.
Black River Design, a Montpelier architecture firm enlisted by the district, estimated the boiler project would cost $838,830, according to a Sept. 12 budget document.
The second proposal centers on improving safety measures at the school’s entrance. Right now, once buzzed inside, visitors can go anywhere within the school.
Officials want to add a “catch area” after the first doorway, Ricca said. That would be a vestibule where a visitor would need to speak with a receptionist before they’d be allowed any further, he said.
The superintendent, who first came aboard last fall, said the safety idea was a preemptive measure in the face of widely publicized incidents of school violence that have struck the nation in recent years.
“I wish I didn’t have to consider this as a superintendent, as a dad, certainly as a human being,” he said.
But in doing nothing, he “would be neglecting a major commitment that I have to St. Johnsbury’s children, as well as the faculty and staff.”
National data is mixed on the long-term trends of school violence.
A report released in April through the federal Department of Education says there were 37 active-shooter incidents at elementary and secondary schools between 2000 and 2017, using the FBI’s definition for an incident.
Fifteen of those incidents occurred between 2000 and 2008, while 22 took place between 2009 and 2017.
At the St. Johnsbury school, the security upgrade would cost an estimated $953,860, according to the architect’s budget.
Speaking on the boiler proposal, Ricca acknowledged that global environmental trends would not likely be impacted by the move at the school, which last year enrolled 675 students.
But he believes the district should serve as a model for students and the community.
“If that encourages one student more … to be more thoughtful about their stewardship … then that to me is a bonus,” he said.
If voters approve the proposal on Nov. 5, the district plans to seek a bond in December, when interest rates are expected to be lower, Ricca said.
Requests for contractor proposals would go out in January, and Ricca believes that means the district could receive better labor rates.
If all goes as he hopes, construction could start once school ends next summer, with at least the heating system ready for students returning for the fall.
“This was a tremendous investment by the community 20 years ago,” Ricca said of the school. “It is our hope that we are able to continue that.”
