The ConVal School Board will vote May 5 on moving forward with adapting a revised and scaled back plan to renovate the Region 14 Career and Technical Education Center.
Budget and Property Committee chair Jim Fredrickson of Sharon reported that his committee recommended moving forward with the revised plan.
“We will be presenting the revised plan at our next meeting. The scope was too big on the last project, and the public did not think it was an appropriate plan at that time,” Fredrickson said.
The Region 14 CTE Center is one of 20 regional technical education centers in the state and includes programs at ConVal, Mascenic and Conant high schools.
Region 14 CTE director Jennifer Kiley said CTEs have typically received state funding for upgrades every 20 years because they require equipment current to industry standards to effectively train students for the workforce.
Kiley said in 2024, local industries had shown interest in donating equipment to an upgraded CTE and that donations could offset a portion of the cost.
“That includes health and health science, as we have a dearth of vets in this area,” she said. “Things that were built 20 years ago no longer represent industry.”
Fredrickson said the revised plan is estimated to cost about $5.5 million.
In December 2024, the ConVal School Board voted to drop a proposal to renovate the CTE center, parts of the high school, and the Lucy Hurlin Theatre. Nine board members voted against bringing the proposal to the March 2025 district ballot. The decision followed public outcry after estimates for the proposed renovations came in at about $33.48 million. The board estimated that state funding specifically for the CTE project, based on historical funding records, would have been $14.73 million, leaving roughly $18.75 million to be covered by a district bond.
Fredrickson stated at the time that the Budget and Property Committee “would go back to the drawing board and come up with another plan to upgrade our CTE.”
On April 21, Superintendent Ann Forrest, Region 14 CTE Director Jennifer Kiley, and Facilities Director Tim Grossi met with the state Department of Education about the renewed possibility of state funding for the CTE.
“What we found out today is that we are still in the queue for CTE funding,” Forrest said. “There are no guarantees we will get money from the state, but if we do not move forward with a proposal for a new CTE at this time, there will be no money, so we do need to commit to going forward with the proposal.”
Fredrickson said the new plan will be vastly scaled back from the proposal in 2024, which had been initiated by former superintendent Kimberly Rizzo-Saunders. The project would have included adding new program areas to the CTE, including veterinary care, health care and metallurgy. Renovations to the high school would have included reconfiguring and repurposing classrooms to shift the special education core, grouping CTE classes together and creating an arts wing promoting collaboration between the CTE and art classes.
The proposal also included possible upgrades to the Lucy Hurlin Theatre, which would have cost an additional $10 million.
The new proposal in development would include only renovations to the CTE, would not change to footprint of the building or include renovations to the high school or the Lucy Hurlin Theatre.
“Going forward, we will be having hearings about this. If the board approves moving forward with this proposal, we will start to take the next steps toward developing a more detailed design,” Fredrickson said.
Fredrickson said the Budget and Property Committee will formally present numbers at the next meeting of the board.