Mayor Reardon's Update on Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School

Despite the efforts of most of the sending communities to delay a vote until April, the Whittier School Committee voted last night to move forward with a vote on Tuesday, January 23 between the hours of 11 am and 7 pm to decide whether to move forward on constructing a new Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School in Haverhill, MA.  A simple majority of individuals from each of the 11 communities will determine the outcome of the vote.  The proposed building is estimated to cost $445 million, which will be the 3rd most expensive school in the United States.  Newburyport is one of 11 sending communities and our proposed contribution, taking into account the $181M expected from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, is estimated to be $30 million ($60M over the life of the loan), with no existing funding mechanism in place to support this.  As it stands, the expected increase in taxes for each Newburyport resident is $272/year for 30 years, requiring a debt exclusion measure to be scheduled and approved by Newburyport voters. Without a debt exclusion, the City would need to make significant budget reductions to fund the estimated $2.0 million in annual debt service within the existing tax levy. The City currently has 29 students enrolled in the school.