Pathfinder Tech: New ‘extended campus’ at Belchertown school will clear its career-ed waitlist
BELCHERTOWN — The Belchertown Public Schools have too much space and too few students.
At the same time, Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School in Palmer has run out of space and — like other career and technical education schools across the state — a waiting list of students hoping to enroll.
Pathfinder plans to lease the soon-to-be-closed Cold Spring School at 57 South Main St. and open it in September 2026 as a new 150-student "extended campus," said Superintendent Eric Duda.
Duda will formally announce plans Friday, along with state lawmakers. Pathfinder is applying for a state grant of up to $5 million to fund the expansion.
Students work in a machine shop at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School. (Provided photo)The Republican
Pathfinder will move some programs — like health care professions, for example — that can be taught with small, tabletop-sized equipment, said Duda.
Pathfinder won't move programs like carpentry or electrical.
Duda said moving some trades from the Pathfinder high school building will free up classroom space and allow for more students across the board in all 15 career and technical programs.
"We are pretty much at capacity," Duda said. "We need to add square footage to make it all work."
But new schools and additions are expensive, running into the hundreds of millions. Duda said he looked for available space, either industrial properties or other unused schools, and couldn't find anything in good enough shape or at the right price.
The Belchertown School Committee voted last month to close Cold Spring elementary, said Heidi Gutekenst, chair of the committee. After this current year, its students will be redistributed to the district's other schools.
"(Cold Spring) is the most expensive to operate by square footage," she said.
Cold Spring, which opened in 1954, will close at the end of this school year.
A student works in a machine shop at Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School. (Provided photo)The Republican
Duda said the Cold Spring school fits Pathfinder's needs.
It has big, wide hallways, classroom space and room for a cafeteria. It's only 10 minutes from Pathfinder in Palmer, and Belchertown is central among the nine towns the vocational school serves: Belchertown, Granby, Hardwick, Monson, New Braintree, Oakham, Palmer, Ware and Warren.
"This is going to be the best of both worlds," Gutekenst said.
Pathfinder's plan keeps the Cold Spring building occupied as a school. And Pathfinder's expansion means more slots for Belchertown students, especially if Pathfinder eventually adds more vocational programs that it doesn't yet offer.
Gutekenst said today, if a Belchertown student wants a program Pathfinder doesn't offer, the district sends the student to a neighboring technical school — usually to Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton — at a greater tuition.
Duda said adding new Pathfinder programs at Belchertown could come later, after the location is operating. An example: Pathfinder is looking at veterinary technology.
Pathfinder has 650 students and takes in a class of 180 ninth graders. But there are 250 to 300 applications every year, Duda said.
"It pains me that there are students seeking this type of education, and we cannot provide it," Duda said. "This should clear our waiting list. We should be able to accept anyone who is looking for a seat."
The Belchertown building also will allow Pathfinder to expand adult continuing education there, Duda said.
In early September, the state opened applications for comprehensive high schools and career technical schools seeking grants of between $2 million and $5 million from a $60 million pool of tech ed funding.
This multi-year funding will support over 2,000 new career and technical education seats around the state through expansion of existing and new career tech programs, according to a news release.
The capital grants are funded through the state's Fair Share Amendment.
Pathfinder plans to apply for the maximum $5 million and use the money for the Belchertown expansion, Duda said. If Pathfinder is unsuccessful in getting the $5 million, he said he'll find flexibility elsewhere in the budget and leverage the additional funding brought by the new students.
He couldn't yet say how much the long-term lease will cost Pathfinder. He said he and Belchertown officials are still working out the details.
Stories by Jim Kinney
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