WHITMAN – The Whitman Middle School building project will be settled by voters at the ballot box on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Whitman Town Hall. The debt exclusion question is the only item on the ballot during voting hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The ballot question would allow the borrowing of the $135 million for the project, minus the $59,159,000 MSBA reimbursement, the MSBA’s required language in a debt exclusion.
A crowd of 336 voters – ony 100 are required for a quorum at special Town Meetings – turned out Monday, Oct. 30 to voice overwhelming support for the project, for which the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), will reimburse the town $59 million. The MSBA had increased its reimbursement by about $13.6 million on Oct. 26, bringing that figure to $76,129,555. The new school is anticipated to last at least 50 years.
Before the MSBA vote, the town’s share was $89 million.
WMS Building Committee Chair, and School Committee member, Fred Small opened the discussion of the project with his thanks for the encouraging turnout, followed by a brief video on the project, narrated by Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak.
Officials opted to borrow for the project based on a level-principal bond, which puts the snapshot of the tax impact for the average taxpayer – which in Whitman is a house valued at $420,530 – at a $1,264.21 increase for the first year calculated on a 5.5-percent interest rate, and gradually declining over the life of the 30-year bond because so much of the interest is paid early. The average bill over the life of the bond is estimated at $860.71. The last payment on that average home would be $502.59.
After 10 years, the town can refinance the bond, according to Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter, who said a level interest bond would cost the town another $19 million in interest on the project.
“The most cost-effective way is to go with a level principal,” she said. “This article will simply allow the Whitman Middle School building project to proceed to a ballot question to be ultimately decided by the voters at the special Town Election … Nov. 4.”
That first year’s tax increase would not go into effect until 2027.
Beal Avenue resident Julia Sheehan asked what the cost to the town would be to make repairs alone to the current middle school.
Small said the estimate for repairs alone is about $60 million, none of which is eligible for MSBA reimbursement.
“It would have to be bonded differently,” he said. “It would be a 20-year bond. … Who knows what a project like that would look like? Would it be done in stages? And that’s the town’s responsibility. Period.”
While several residents spoke in favor of the project as a much-needed replacement for a building that was constructed before modern building codes and has been plagued by mold problems in the gymnasium area. The new middle school’s auditorium, while the focus of much discussion Monday, is only one of the details of the plan that is needed for the school’s educational plan. The video also included information on the use of natural daylight and light-weight solar technology to reduce utilities costs, and safety features of the building as well as community use opportunities and small-group learning spaces and concentration of each grade level into its own wing or “neighborhood” to facilitate team teaching and collaboration as well as healthy social interaction between students.
One resident argued that a grade six to eight school without an auditorium would be the more economical way to go. Older residents, especially, voiced concern about the effect the project would have on their taxes – and their ability to stay in their homes.
“We’ve examined one-story, two-stories, three-stories, [grades] five through eight, six through eight, with an auditorium, without an auditorium,” Small said. “The Building Committee has been very diligent in doing a lot of exploring.”
He said when the vote on cutting the auditorium and moving to a grade six through eight school was rejected by the building committee, it could not be reconsidered.
While not a component covered by MSBA reimbursement, several in the audience stressed the importance of an auditorium for the benefit of Whitman’s students.
One mother, who graduated W-H in 2007 and attended both the old and new high schools, recognizes the same challenges of water damage and accessibility issues, as well as failing and insufficient facilities at the current middle school, which her child attends.
“Back when we first started – back when the word COVID meant nothing to anyone we were discussing what the cost of the project would be,” Small said, noting the range as recently as three years ago was $50 million to $80 million. “Costs grew … the will of the committee was an auditorium and a grade five through eight was the most educationally proper and sound project to be putting forward.” At that time, as recently as a year ago, the town’s share was estimated at between $67 million to $73 million.
Whether one favors or opposes the project, Small said it was wrong to suggest that the town doesn’t need a new middle school, because it does.
“It’s disgusting and it’s despicable,” he said of the current conditions at WMS.
Parent Heather Clough of Beulah Street said her son could not attend WMS because the school could not meet his special needs. Building a more accessible and inclusive school could save the district in placement costs, among other issues, she said.
Assistant Superintendent George Ferro, who was principal at WMS for 15 years, said the age span of students in grades five to eight – ages 10 to 14 – is very appropriate to place in the same building.
“If you look at the changes that take place in the human body and the changes that take place in the minds and feelings of students in ages 10 to 14 … at fifth grade, they are too old for their elementary school years,” he said. “That age range of 10 to 14 should be together and that is what research shows.”
He also pointed to Hanson Middle School’s grade five to eight population and the presence of an auditorium in that school.
“We should not deny our children the right … in developing who they are – developing their skills, developing what they want to do,” Ferro said. “We have ball fields. We have turf. … But every single student deserves the right to learn how to express themselves.”
Former Town Administrator Frank Lynam noted the 336 people attending and said there would be about 2,000 citizens able to make that decision at the voting booth.
“I think we would be a lot better off forwarding and giving a larger part of the populace the opportunity to say yes or no,” he said.
Select Board member Shawn Kain said the town’s work with a financial consultant to manage Whitman’s debt.
“Before we make what will be the biggest investment in the town’s history, we should have an understanding of our debt, how we came to be this way and the repercussions, if we do support it, moving forward,” he said.
Both Kain and Small pointed to increased building costs and lower reimbursement that the W-H region received from MSBA – including that this is not a regional project – as to why the project will cost so much more than the high school did in 2007
“With this in mind, we recommended that this be a 30-year bond, not a 20-year bond, to help with our kids,” Kain said. But he also pointed to future debt – the DPW building and a proposal for a building project from South Shore Tech – as things to be aware of when voting on the project, as well as capital needs of other town buildings.
“It’s a difficult decision,” he said. “Two of our strategic priorities are education and finance.”
But Small argued the WMS Building Committee has worked hard to repeat the success of the WHRHS committee.
“It would be my intention [to do] the same as for the high school,” he said. “We came in on time and on budget.”
Carter said the $17.8 million DPW project approved by voters last year calculates out to an added $352.28 on the first year of a 20-year bond for that $420,000 average home taxes – down to $170.39 in the last year. The DPW bond rate is based on the town’s rating, while the school’s borrowing cost will be based on the district’s rating.
Leila Donovan of Old Mansion Lane asked if there was a representative from the assessor’s office present who could provide information on tax abatement programs for residents. Assistant Town Administrator – and former Assessor – Kathleen Keefe said there are programs that can assist elder residents, veterans and blind people in applying for abatements. A call to the Assessor’s Office can offer that help, she said.
Select Board member Laura Howe said the issue has divided the town and this was a decision that should be made in an effort to bring the town together.
“When I make a budget, I make it to be what I can afford,” she said. “I hope … that we all reach out a hand to each other, because there’s nobody in this town that does not like children.”
Finance Committee Chair Rick Anderson said Building Committee Vice Chair Kathleen Ottina, also a FinCom member, has – along with other FinCom members – evaluated the various options and MSBA grant process.
“Following lengthy discussion, the Finance Committee recommends this article unanimously,” he said, while they are also members of the community who pay taxes.
“Our students and educators deserve something better,” he said, pointing to the unanimous consensus of the FinCom, Capital Committee, School Committee and Building Committee in support of the article. “The time to act is tonight.”