New vote slated on office razing

Taxpayers who live in the Watertown City School District can vote Sept. 21 for a second time on authorizing the district to tear down its former office building on Butterfield Avenue.

"We hope that people will come out again and support this," Board of Education member Kenneth F. Netto said at a meeting Tuesday. "We've talked about using the land for athletic practice fields and keeping it for potential future growth."

Voters approved a proposition in May to allow school officials to use an estimated $650,000 from the district's unappropriated fund balance for asbestos removal and demolition of the building. But because the required state Environmental Quality Review forms weren't submitted to the state before the deadline, state officials declared the vote null and void in June.

The state requires that the form be authorized by the Board of Education and submitted to the state at least 45 days before the vote takes place. The review outlines the effect the demolition would have on the surrounding environment.

There would be no additional cost for taxpayers, but district officials still must obtain approval to go ahead with the demolition.

The building was first an elementary school and then became the district office building. The district offices moved to Harold T. Wiley Intermediate School three years ago, and the Butterfield building since has fallen into disrepair.

When mold was discovered two years ago, the building was shut down entirely. It has a leaky roof and a warped floor, and district officials have been discussing demolishing it because of liability concerns.

The building sits on an 11-acre lot, and district officials have expressed interest in keeping the land in case there is a steep enrollment increase in the future and the district needs another elementary school.

The vote will take place from noon to 9 p.m. Sept. 21. The polling places are North Elementary School for voters who reside in the north election district and Watertown High School for voters who reside in the south election district.

At Tuesday's meeting, the board:

■ Approved the extension of the district's contract with Freeman Bus Corp. for the 2010-11 school year, including a 2.2 percent increase from last year's cost, which was more than $3 million.

■ Established tuition rates for nonresident students for the 2010-11 school year. The rate for kindergarten through sixth grade is $3,497, and the rate for grades seven through 12 is $2,644.

■ Authorized restoring one fourth-grade section at North Elementary School, where the four fourth-grade class sizes are getting large, with 27 or 28 children in each. The salary could be funded using federal Title 1 money, Superintendent Terry N. Fralick said.