REGIONAL — Whittier Regional Vocational Technical School has moved closer to getting the state to help build a new building on the campus of Northern Essex Community College (NECC).
Ipswich and Rowley have agreed to sign a letter committing to help fund a feasibility study for the school to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).
The MSBA invited Whittier last December to participate in the design and funding program to replace its 50-year-old building on the NECC campus. And in an innovative step, Whittier is considering merging with NECC.
Only Selectman Clifford Pierce of Rowley, among the SelectBoard members in the two towns, voted against signing the letter.
The letter commits the Whittier communities to conduct and fund a feasibility study for the new school. Estimates are that the study will cost $2.5 million, which Whittier and NECC have said they will cover $1 million. That leaves the 11 municipalities to share the balance.
At issue is the decades-old Whittier regional agreement, which governs the schools funding and governance by the 11 cities and towns. Melinda Barrett, the mayor of Haverhill, the largest city in the Whittier community, has said she will oppose any amendments to the existing regional agreement.
