Schools
School Building Project: What Will a 'No' Vote Cost the Town?
What will the town have to pay for if the school building project is not approved?
Welcome to You Asked...Patch Answers where we answer readers questions. We recently received questions about the school building project. Patch readers want to know what will happen if the school building project is not approved. Here's your answer.
If residents vote against the , the town will still have to pay about $49,955,131 for repairs to the current high and middle schools, according to school officials.
If the project passes, it will cost $107.8 million and the state will reimburse 51.49 percent of eligible costs. The Secondary Schools Building Committee (SSBC) estimates that the town will pay around $60 million for a new combined high school/middle school campus.
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According to the SSBC, the cost breakdown listed below includes repairs to the existing and and changes to current code violations. The costs are estimates and may change. The cost for the repairs listed below does not fix overcrowding, small or modular classrooms, classrooms in storage closets and the lack of science labs and technology, said school building advocates.
This work cannot be completed during the summer, so students will have to attend school in trailers while these repairs are completed. The trailers will have to be brought in several times, and the school will deal with disruption for many years.
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According to the SSBC, if the project does not pass, the repairs will be done over a period of about 10 years, so a phasing price escalation is included in the breakdown.
Repair High school cost Middle school cost Structural $1,157,058 $795,402 Building Envelope $1,419,862 $806,921 Roof n/a $100,695 Interior Construction $829,600 $758,464 Stairs $38,950 $38,950 Finishes $1,148,520 $759,690 Elevators $120,000 $120,000 HVAC/Plumbing/Electrical/Fire Protection $5,949,156 $4,767,021Furnishings $300,310 n/a Demolition $578,075 $405,000 Hazardous Material Allowance $693,690 $250,000 Sitework allowance $350,000 $250,000 GC/GR/OHP/Testing/Contingencies $5,825,135 $5,340,875 Phasing $1,258,672 $350,000 Soft Cost Allowance $3,933,806 $2,948,604 Sub-total $ 23,602,806 $17,691,122 Sub-total for both schools $41,294,456 Waste Water Treatment Plant for both schools $2,600,000
Phasing price escalation for both schools (over 10 years) $6,060,675
Grand Total for both schools $49,955,131
There will be a special town meeting Monday, March 19 at 7 p.m. at the followed by a Special Election March 24 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at to vote for the school building project. Special Town Meeting will require 2/3 vote and Special Election will require majority vote to pass.
For more information, please visit the SSBC website.
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