ATHOL – In an effort to show the need for a new or renovated Athol High School, officials held a tour while outlining the process, which begins with a feasibility study.

Athol Royalston Regional School District Superintendent Matt Ehrenworth, district Facilities Director T.J. Mallet and Athol High School Principal David King met with officials from Athol and Royalston.

The cost of the study has been estimated at $1.6 million. Almost from the beginning of his tenure, Ehrenworth has argued a new facility is needed to replace the current school, which opened its doors in 1960. He told the gathering of Selectboard, School Committee, and Finance Committee members, however, that if a study determined that rehabilitating the school is feasible, he would agree to that. But in either case, he said, the study is crucial at this time.

Before sitting down to discuss funding for study, attendees were taken around the school and its surroundings, including the athletic field.

“Every other high school in western Massachusetts has synthetic track,” said King. “We have not had a track here at Athol High School for over 12 years.”

As for the half-dozen large poles topped by lights for evening events, King continued, “You can see that they’re all blocked off right now. That is about a $400,000 project to bring them up to code. They’re leaning and they’re failing.”

Moving inside to the school gym, Mallet said, “This floor cannot be upgraded anymore. The last time we sanded this down, (we were told) the next time we sand it down the nails will come right up through the floor. So we have to make a decision here.”

As the tour continued, King and Mallet pointed out rooms that lacked fire suppression, doors and entryways not Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant, rooms that contain asbestos, and lack of adequate air conditioning or ventilation. The cafeteria has doors, table heights and water fountains that fail to comply with the ADA, said Mallet, adding that the kitchen and service line are inadequate for serving the current number of students and staff.

Other areas of the school lack restrooms, and asbestos can be found in some restrooms, floor tiles, and other areas.

Uneven floors, poor drainage in the courtyard and driveway, deteriorating sidewalks, and a number of other problems were pointed out during the tour.

On the cost of the feasibility study, Ehernworth said Athol would assume about 94%, while Royalston would cover the remaining $96,000. He explained that the Massachusetts School Building Authority will reimburse the towns for approximately 79.5% of the total cost.

“We need to be identifying if there’s anything we can be doing to make sure we’re keeping up the programmatic needs of our students,” said Ehrenworth. “As ACES was starting to get tighter and tighter, the middle school has four grades in it, when it was only designed for three, and the high school is aging and really not able to meet the programmatic needs of the school system.

“So, right from the start of my tenure, I commissioned a facilities assessment that was helpful on many fronts. Regardless of the decisions that get made from it, it was a guideline for us for basically a 20-year capital plan.”

Athol Selectboard member Marc Maxwell said the district has a tough job ahead of it when it comes to convincing people of the need for a new high school.

“The goal of the district is to get into the feasibility study,” Ehrenworth replied. “That is the only goal of the district. We don’t have the answer because the study will determine what we could or couldn’t do. Even given the space we do have, we don’t know what it potentially could be transformed into.”

The superintendent explained that a building committee made up of community members would “through the feasibility process, determine what the needs of the school and the district are.”

“I just don’t see Athol residents feeling like they can afford to do this at this time,” said Athol Selectboard Chair Rebecca Bialecki. “Putting the budget together for this year has been a tough process and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be any easier in the next few years ahead.”

Athol Finance and Warrant Advisory Committee Chair Ken Duffy has also expressed skepticism over the proposal. Duffy has previously said that in 2018, voters approved borrowing just over $10 million to make repairs to the existing high school. The loan for those repairs won’t be paid off until 2031, according to Duffy.

“We were assured at that time that the repairs would extend the life of the high school by 20 years or more,” he said.

Ehrenworth said that the district will undertake a community-wide effort in both towns to explain the need for the feasibility study.

“The cost of doing nothing would just be too high,” he said.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.