Thank you BVT for this submission
Original press release from BVT announcing program expansion
As the Blackstone Valley Vocational Regional School District pursues voter approval to establish programs in Engineering (Mechanical/Civil/Aerospace), Veterinary Assisting, and Legal and Protective Services, Superintendent-Director Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick has identified several common questions raised by residents throughout the 13-town District.
In distributing answers to frequently asked questions, Fitzpatrick hopes to provide as many voters as possible with accurate and additional information regarding Blackstone Valley Tech’s proposed program expansion, which would require voter approval at annual town meetings of a $2.9 million dollar bond. The new bond debt would be shared by the District’s 13 member towns over the course of 20 years and offset by the refinancing of existing debt, which is expected to yield District towns $850,000 in savings. Impact of the new debt would not occur until Fiscal Year 2016 and the District will rebate 50% of each town’s debt assessment associated with the bond for the first two years (FY16 and FY17).
Q: Why is Valley Tech proposing a program expansion?
A: The impetus for this project came from two fronts, beginning with the overwhelming interest of student candidates to avail themselves of the unlimited opportunities at Blackstone Valley Tech. It is no secret that the application pool far exceeds our limited ability to accept new students. It is disappointing to say no to any candidate. Additionally, several finance committee members within the Valley Tech District have encouraged us to reduce the exposure of their communities to the high cost of out-of-district tuition to other vocational technical systems. The ability to refinance existing debt and secure highly attractive borrowing rates, as well as the aforementioned student interest and urging of member communities, provide solid rationales to move forward at this time.
Q: Why does Valley Tech want to add these specific programs?
A: The District’s long term master plan identified Engineering (Mechanical/Civil/Aerospace), Veterinary Assisting, and Legal and Protective Services as priority programs based on student interest and future employment opportunities (as projected by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development). Further, each of the proposed new programs currently exists in one form or another in neighboring vocational technical systems and would otherwise attract candidates from our 13-town district.
Q: Can traditional high schools easily replicate these programs?
A: Absolutely not. Those familiar with the state’s rigorous standards and 10 approval factors for certifiable vocational technical programs recognize full well that few systems could replicate the proposed career pathways.
Q: What is the project’s financial impact on District towns?
A: Despite some misconceptions to the contrary, allow me to clarify that Valley Tech is NOT asking for $2.9 million dollars from each of our District towns. We are proposing the $2.9 million bond be shared by our 13 member towns. In fact, this ability to share debt among 13 municipal partners is one of the largest advantageous of the Blackstone Valley’s vocational technical system. Each District town has 12 contributing partners and no one town needs to assume a disproportionate amount of new debt. It is our hope that most, if not all, towns can support our modest request without exemption complications.
To avoid a sudden impact to district town assessments, the District is prepared to gradually phase in the three new programs and accept an eventual total of 200 new students over the course of 6 to 8 years. On this timeline, each District town would likely see an additional 1 to 2 students enroll in Valley Tech’s new programs each year.
Q: Will the new programs eventually lead to more adult education programs at Valley Tech?
A: No, they will not. In 2009, Valley Tech proudly established an adult Post-Secondary Practical Nursing program. While that program has been a tremendous success, there are no plans to increase the number of adult education programs at our school during difficult economic times. While it would be nice to add more adult programs, our focus is on providing vocational technical education to the youth of our District.
Q: What long term impact will the program expansion have on Valley Tech’s operational budget?
A: We are committed to ensuring that the program expansion has a minimal long term impact on our operational budget. On this front, the District has already secured over $330,000 in grant or donated assets to equip the new programs. In some ways, this proposal is similar to our 2001 expansion, which also included the addition of three new programs and earned the unanimous support of all 13 towns. Any District taxpayer who examines our long term track record of annual operational budget increases will confirm our increases and self-funding strategies have been the envy of many. The fear of significant spikes is not supported by our track record over two decades.
Q: Will any of the $2.9 million be used for new staff?
The proposed $2.9 million bond will be used to finance the renovation and reconfiguration of existing space to create three new vocational pathways and the addition of six academic classrooms.
Q: Why delay securement of new debt until Fiscal Year 2016?
A: In order to provide member communities with lead time to address their fiscal responsibilities, we thought it best to delay any debt impact to our municipal partners until Fiscal Year 2016. To further minimize the fiscal impact, the District plans on rebating 50% of the payments in the first and second years.
Under this arrangement, the proposed new debt is expected to result in the following municipal contributions and District rebates in Fiscal Year 2016 (based on estimates of a 3.5% interest rate):
| TOWN | FY16 CONTRIBUTION | 50% REBATE |
| Bellingham | $16,762 | $8,381 |
| Blackstone | $16,269 | $8,135 |
| Douglas | $15,776 | $7,888 |
| Grafton | $18,734 | $9,367 |
| Hopedale | $5,177 | $2,589 |
| Mendon | $14,790 | $7,395 |
| Milford | $31,799 | $15,900 |
| Millbury | $14,297 | $7,149 |
| Millville | $9,367 | $4,684 |
| Northbridge | $28,841 | $14,421 |
| Sutton | $19,227 | $9,614 |
| Upton | $20,460 | $10,230 |
| Uxbridge | $35,003 | $17,502 |
Q: How will the proposed rebates be financed?
A: Rebates will be generated utilizing funds made available in a legal settlement and previously identified as a funding source for capital projects.
Q: How receptive has the public been to this proposed program expansion?
A: With few exceptions, we have been encouraged to move forward, similar to our experience in 2001, when the District’s proposed addition of three new programs received the unanimous support of our 13 member towns. While the cost associated with today’s proposal is significantly lower than that of 2001, the need to provide more viable career pathways for the youth of the Blackstone Valley is at an all-time high.
UPTON DAILY 
This is a shell game. Rebates! How can a school district that WE finance rebate us our own money, how do they have this extra money that they can rebate to us????
And don’t be lulled into complacency…. it’s NOT the upfront cost that will be the killer. It will cost towns $100s of thousands annually, and that money has to come from somewhere!!!! The budget buster will be when potentially dozens more kids from each of the towns goes to BVT and we have to pay for them at double or triple the cost of educating those same kids within our own districts.
Educate 2-3 kids at home for the price of one at BVT. Or how about this, for each kid that goes to BVT the home district will have to cut their budget by the cost of two kids while only losing one. At $15k per year to educate kids at BVT, can your town afford to pay $150,000 more per year for just ten more kids to go there????? What about double that???? Are you OK with cutting town services to afford this extravagance???!?!?!?
I don’t have this extra money to spend. If you do send your kid to a private school.