By JOSEPH B. NADEAU

WOONSOCKET — The time may be right for the city to take title to the Woonsocket Area Career and Technical Center, but can it afford the cost of the 32-year-old building’s upkeep?

That is a question school officials are trying to answer while weighing an offer from the state to assume ownership of the regional vocational school with a bonus award of between $1.2 million to $1.5 million in state funding for needed repairs.
The School Committee voted unanimously last week to move forward on a possible acquisition of the school while collecting information on the costs of the needed repairs. The next step would be discussions with Mayor Susan D. Menard and the City Council as to whether the city should acquire the property.
The actual decision on the takeover would have to be made by the City Council which holds authority over the acquisition and sale of city property.
The School Committee could provide the city with a recommendation under that process.
The council and the School Committee are scheduled to meet in joint session tonight at Harris Hall to review options for addressing a projected $2.4 million deficit in school spending already looming over the district.
While the Career Center proposal will not be before the panels for that discussion, any increase in department costs could have an impact on the budget correction work that will be on the table.
School Superintendent Robert J. Gerardi Jr. told the committee the state has already reached agreements with several other communities on the takeover of career centers they host and is interested in concluding the Woonsocket Area Career and Technical Center agreement as soon as possible.
The change would hand the city the burden of major upkeep of the state-owned Career Center property but only after the most needed repairs are completed with the related state funding, according to Gerardi.
The city would be able to add the Center’s estimated $44 million-value to its list of city property assets and see a potential positive impact of that value on its local bond rating, he noted.
The School Department already carries the Center’s heating and electrical costs within its budget and operates the 500-student facility while receiving tuition revenues from Cumberland, North Smithfield and Burrillville.
The School Department has considered acquiring the property in the past and former Superintendent of Schools Anthony L. D’Acchioli also reviewed the costs of need repairs as part of that process.