Why I’m Voting ‘No’ on the Whittier Tech School Building Project
On January 23rd, voters across the Merrimack Valley and North Shore will decide the fate of the proposed new building project for the Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School. The Whittier School Committee has proposed a $444.6M project to completely replace the current school, which they claim is necessitated by a number of needed infrastructure investments and an aging campus. It will be the third most expensive school ever built in the United States. In Newburyport, this plan is projected to cost the average taxpayer approximately $277 per year for the next 30 years if approved.
I have been a supporter of vocational education throughout my service on the School Committee and my time as Mayor, and I believe deeply in the mission of Whittier. I also spent my prior professional life working with public schools and vo-techs all across the state. This school is training the region’s future workforce, the students attending from Newburyport, and the City as a whole, which benefits greatly from their educational services.
I have nothing but appreciation for Whittier, and that is what makes it especially difficult for me to oppose this proposed project. Ultimately, this project is not fiscally responsible and has been introduced in a way that has ignored the voices of community leaders, ultimately lacking in transparency and collaboration. We first heard about this project in December 2022 and didn’t receive our first financial numbers until the first week of October 2023. Whittier started working on this project in 2019 with little to no involvement from the 11 communities that would have to pay for it.
As Mayor, I need to look at the project’s fiscal impact first and address how it would affect the City’s many priorities. If the January 23rd vote is successful, it essentially is like writing a blank check to Whittier. Newburyport will be on the hook for a minimum of $30M, its share of the project based on an antiquated agreement from 1967. The City does not have funds from the operating budget to afford this, so we will instead need to bond, which means the costs will total close to $60M over 30 years with interest, not to mention significantly impacting our bond rating. The City is limited in the amount it can increase taxes each year, and this obligation will mean either asking residents to vote on excluding this debt, or making cuts to the operating budget to accommodate these new payments. In either scenario, the City will not be able to take on needed projects, including school renovations, public infrastructure investments including roads and sidewalks, and other community services. We would need to make cuts to departments including our Schools, Public Library, Council on Aging, Recreation and Youth Services, and other vital services.
I say all this not to fear monger or try to disparage the project, but instead to emphasize just how large a project this is and how it would impact every member of this community. This year alone, difficult choices had to be made about capital projects, new positions, and equipment that was requested across the city: millions of dollars’ worth of expenses were requested by city officials but not put forward in our budget. This project will move these requests back even further, and limit our ability to provide the level of government services residents deserve.
We have 29 students currently attending Whittier, and yet based on a District agreement signed in 1967, our share of the project is based on the total K12 enrollment of all students in Newburyport, making our contribution the second highest of all the member communities, even though we have among the lowest enrollment. We have by far the highest costs per student, though most of the member communities have similar concerns as ours regarding the cost of the project.
While Whittier is an excellent resource for Newburyport students, it is also not the only location for vocational education in our community. We also send students to Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School, and Newburyport High School is expanding its partnerships programs for vocational opportunities locally. A new pilot program with the Peterson School in Woburn will allow NHS students to train in plumbing, electrical, and HVAC fields all while still attending high school in Newburyport. We have continued demand for these services, and the new Whittier building will unfortunately not increase enrollment at the school which currently has a waiting list for new students.
I have worked with my fellow member community leaders to make our concerns known and to communicate to the Whittier School Committee that the surrounding towns do not have the financial capacity to fund this project. Our concerns have been responded to the same way every time: our choice is to either to fund a half-billion-dollar new school, or end up paying even more to renovate the school. This is based on a potentially inaccurate assumption that no state aid would be available for a renovation project. This analysis seems heavily skewed in favor of a new building and does not consider alternatives, including a different structuring of the infrastructure investments or pursuit of other sources of aid. Whittier’s response of ‘all or nothing’ does not go far enough in addressing our concerns or showing a good faith effort to find another solution. We recently invited Whittier to a public forum scheduled for January 9th at the Nock Middle School so they could talk to residents about the project and they declined.
The City of Newburyport is absolutely willing to contribute to needed improvements at Whittier, and we can work to include funding in our next budget. However, the amount being demanded of us for this new school is not reasonable, and our neighboring communities are in the same position. At this time, a NO VOTE is the only fiscally responsible choice. A NO VOTE gives us options. It will give us a real opportunity to work with Whittier to find alternative solutions and reach consensus through collaboration and transparency.
Mayor Sean Reardon
Newburyport, MA
