Voters across five Massachusetts towns will go to the polls today to decide the fate of a $288.7 million new school building for Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester.
This is the second time the project is facing voters. In November, voters overwhelmingly rejected the project. Old Colony Building Project leaders are now proposing the new school construction project again, hoping for a different outcome.
For the project to pass, a simple majority of voters across all five towns need to approve it.
If approved, Old Colony would be authorized to borrow the $288.7 million the school says it needs to design, build and furnish a new high school. Almost half the project would be paid for by a $129 million Massachusetts School Building Authority grant plus $11 million in incentive payments from the state, leaving the towns to foot the remaining $148 million.
These costs could trickle down to taxpayers. According to a tax impact calculator from the Old Colony Building Project, should the project pass, the owner of a Carver home valued at the town average of $547,259 would pay an additional $322.88 per year in taxes.
A “no” vote would bring the project to a halt and possibly push project leaders to call for repairs to the school, which project leaders argue could be more expensive to voters than a new building.
Project leaders estimated the repair option would cost the average Carver homeowner an additional $339.30 per year. Repair costs would still have to be approved by voters at Town Meeting if the school moves forward with them.
Carver narrowly voted down the new school project last year with 284 “No” and 246 “Yes” votes. Across all member towns, 3,112 voters opposed the project and 1,923 voted for it.
Voter turnout was low. Just under 5.4% of registered voters in Carver participated in November’s Old Colony project referendum.
Polls for all three of Carver’s precincts are open today, Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Carver Middle High School gymnasium at 60 South Meadow Road.
Contact Nick Mossman at nick@carverjournal.com
