Pembroke turns down breezeway project

By a three-vote margin, Pembroke residents turned down the proposed breezeway project at the elementary school in a February 23 referendum vote. The vote was 21 to 18, with only 39 residents casting ballots. The project proposed that $175,000 of federal COVID relief money, specifically given to the school, be used to enclose the breezeway. Enclosing the breezeway would change the footprint of the building and is therefore defined as new construction, rather than restoration, so a public hearing and referendum vote, along with the services of an architectural firm, were required.
The breezeway project would have created space to be used for multiple purposes, including an area where children could potentially eat, which always requires strategy when there is a quarantine issue because children have to take their masks off to eat, and as an extra classroom. The space could also provide a counseling area. The deadline for spending the money is June 30, 2024. If it isn't used by that date, the funds will revert to the federal government to be redistributed as unused funds.
According to the Pembroke Facebook community page, many people were completely unaware of the vote and expressed hope that there would be another vote on the issue.
At the March 7 Pembroke School Committee meeting, Superintendent Kenneth Johnson opened a discussion on developing new plans to use the $175,000. Those present in the room, including board members, staff and residents, asked if the breezeway project could be revisited. Johnson replied, "The referendum vote was essentially a vote of support. If it had been a 'yes' that wouldn't have necessarily meant that the project would be completed no matter what. There were still a lot of steps in the process. With the support vote from the community the architects would have proceeded to gather information and would have generated a cost analysis. If we wanted to proceed, there would have been a contract with a vendor. We didn't get to that point."
He added, "I think some people felt that referendum meant that it was going to go through no matter what, and that just wasn't the case, because there were still some steps along the way. The intent of the vote was to show the feds that there was community support for the project."
At the time of the public hearing and referendum vote, the school audit results and budget hadn't been announced. At this meeting, Johnson announced that the school audit results were very positive and that there is $424,000 available, some of which could be used to increase the facilities maintenance budget, which in turn could be used to bring things up to code. The cost of bringing the school up to code was closely questioned at the February 8 public hearing on the breezeway project.
In a follow up interview about seeking another vote, Johnson stated, "We would have to proceed with caution because a legitimate vote has been taken, but if there are citizens in the community that feel that they would like to revisit the matter, then they should approach their select board. I am not going to challenge the results of a vote. The vote was authentic and done by the appropriate process. If there are citizens who feel differently, who want to have some continued discussion over it, then I can't control what those citizens say or do, but I can't push that with my authority. The school doesn't have anything to do with the election process." The prevailing sentiment, from those present at the school board meeting, was to approach the select board about the possibility of another vote.

Masking now optional
In other business, Johnson delivered the good news that as of March 9 masking became optional at the school. Students testing positive will still have to quarantine the first five days and mask from days six to 10.
In her principal's report, Debbie Jamieson announced that the kitchen baseboards have been replaced. The dishwasher needs to be replaced because it is the original from 1984, and parts aren't available for it anymore. The snowblower, also vintage 1984, needs to be replaced. This will likely be done in early summer when they are on sale. The sides and back of the building need to be repainted. The front was painted last year. A new generator will be installed in late June or early July, preventing school closures from power outages.
In winter sports, by combining boys and girls the school now has a complete team. There are nine players, and there are four students participating on the cheer team. There will be a total of seven games during the season.