Why Do We Need a New High/Middle School Now?

The following was submitted by the Secondary Schools Building Committee:

Residents have asked why the town needs a new middle/high school now. Here is your answer:

We are all experiencing tough economic times. Difficult as it may be, now is the right time to make this investment in our community.

Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) will pay nearly half the cost.  We have the opportunity to bring back our tax dollars to North Reading. The MSBA, which is funded by our sales tax dollars, will pay up to 51.49% of the project costs.

Interest rates are near an all-time low.  Low interest rates will save our town a considerable amount of money over the life of the project.

Low construction costs.  Because of the slow economy, construction costs are still low, and we will have more leverage when bidding out the project.

Stimulate our town’s economy.  This building project will inject significant funds into the local economy through construction jobs and the servicing of the construction project.

We can fix both schools under one project.  Our phased approach allows us to use the existing structures as classroom space while the other sections are under construction, eliminating the need to bus students to an adjacent town or rent expensive classroom trailers.

The buildings need significant work.  We have deferred needed maintenance to the Middle and High School buildings to address other town projects such as the Batchelder School, the Police Station, and the Fire Station.  These needs cannot be put off any longer.  If the town does not pass the school building project, we must still fix the buildings, and the cost is nearly the same as the proposed project.  The tax increase will still happen, as the town will be faced with multiple additions to the tax bill over multiple years at varying interest rates, and without state reimbursement.

Attract new families and good teachers.  Most of our surrounding towns have new (or newer) schools.  Realtors tell us that some families moving to the North Shore are choosing to live in adjacent communities because of the condition of our schools.  School administrators are also finding that in hiring new teachers, given the choice to teach in a facility that has the appropriate learning environment vs. a facility that is lacking and in need of repair, a teacher will and did choose the community with the better facilities.

Positive effect to our home values.  Bringing home buyers to North Reading will have a positive effect on the value of all of our homes.

For all of the above reasons, we believe it’s the right time to improve North Reading’s high school and middle school.  For more information, please visit our website.