Voters across five Massachusetts towns are heading to the polls today to decide whether to move forward with a $288.7 million new school building for Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester.
Old Colony’s proposal comes amid concerns about aging infrastructure and space restrictions in the current school, which was built in 1975.
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 of that bill would be paid for by the Massachusetts School Building Authority with a $129 million grant. The remaining cost would be sent to Old Colony’s member towns of Carver, Acushnet, Lakeville, Mattapoisett and Rochester.
For Carver, the Old Colony Building Project group estimates a total cost of $26.2 million. If the project passes, it will launch a string of decisions for the town about how to pay its share.
A “no” vote would bring the project to a halt and risk the MSBA grant support it currently has.
According to Old Colony Superintendent Aaron Polansky, should it fail, the building project would require MSBA approval to schedule another vote, or it could have to wait up to five to 10 years to re-enter the program.
The school could then move forward with repairs, which Polansky said could conservatively cost $134.3 million, all of which would fall on the towns — and not far off from the expected $159 million they’d have to pay for a new school.
Recent critics of the project, however, have argued that Old Colony hasn’t been transparent in its anticipated costs. Building project organizers have since made an onslaught of Facebook posts calling the critiques “misleading.”
Old Colony needs a simple majority of voters across its five member towns combined to build the new school. Even if voters reject the proposal in a certain town, the town is still expected to fund its share of the new school should it pass in the combined vote.
Polls in Carver will be open today from 12 to 8 p.m. at the Carver Middle High School at 60 South Meadow Road.
Contact Nick Mossman at nick@carverjournal.com
