REGIONAL – If Whittier Regional Vocational Technical School is going to receive state funding for a new building on the Northern Essex Community College campus, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is insisting that all 11 municipalities in its district agree to amend its governing agreement by July 21.
The MSBA has tentatively invited Whittier to apply for its funding program that could allocate as much as half the costs of a new high school. But that eligibility has strings attached.
Whittier must have each of the chief executives (mayors or SelectBoard chairs) to sign a letter that agrees to “amend, as may be needed, the existing Vocational Regional School District Agreement.”
Some changes, such as the location of the school, would be relatively easy for all 11 communities to approve. But others, particularly the reallocation of funding for the school’s operations and capital improvements, would be a tall ask.
Most communities, except Haverhill, which has the largest student enrollment, would like to see a change in the funding allocation, including building a new school.
If the 11 communities cannot agree with the changes, the state legislature and governor or the courts would mostly have to step in.
After the municipalities voted down the proposed construction of a $440 million new building a year ago, they created a Whittier Task Force, made up of representatives from the municipalities, to try to find a way to fund a new building and allocate costs of operations more equitably.
That would probably require they agree on a new governing agreement. The smaller cities and towns would like to fund Whitter based on students from each community attending, rather than all of their school-age students.
But after two meetings, the task force hit the pause button when Haverhill opposed changes in the current agreement.
The letter from each municipality must also agree to support and fund a feasibility study for Whittier as it studies whether to move the high school to the NECC campus or stay in its current location. Both sites are in Haverhill.
Several of the municipalities, including Rowley, have been adamantly opposed to the current agreement. Rowley voted not to join the Whittier task force.
Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon, who supported the merger of Whittier and NECC, wrote in an email, “I think 10 out of the 11 communities would like to see the current agreement changed before even thinking about committing to a NECC/Whittier partnership.”
The key issues under discussion are:
– Reapportioning the operating and capital costs based on the number of students enrolled at Whittier from each municipality. Haverhill has the largest number of students at Whittier. Operating costs are divided among the number of students from each municipality. Capital costs are based on enrollment of all students residing in a municipality and attending schools from grade one through 12.
– Change the way amendments to the agreement are approved to a two-thirds majority of the cities and towns, not all municipalities. That way Haverhill could not control the amendment process.
– Change the number of signatures of registered voters required to initiate an amendment, which is currently at 5 percent.
– Formalize procedures for incurring debt.
– Allow a municipality to withdraw from the Whittier district if two-thirds of the member municipalities agree. Currently, all municipalities must agree.
– Require a two thirds majority to approve the operating budget.
The working group meets again this month to hear a presentation by the University of Massachusetts Donahoe Institute regarding the merger of Whittier and NECC. ♦
