Loud support for new Middleton school

A sometimes bitter fight between residents who oppose more taxes and those who support building a new elementary school attracted nearly 800 to Town Meeting in Middleton Tuesday night.
With lines forming outside North Shore Technical High School as people waited to vote, the two-thirds majority needed to approve a $16.3 million debt exclusion to fund a new Howe-Manning Elementary School was easily reached. The tally was 663 yes votes and 118 no's.
The debt exclusion, which allows property taxes to be raised above the limits of Proposition 2 1/2 for a period of 10 years, now moves forward to the town election on Monday, where it would pass with a simple majority.
The state's School Building Authority has agreed to provide $15.1 million, or 48 percent, of the eligible costs of the $31.4 million project.
The original Howe-Manning School was built in 1937 and renovated in 1957. State and local estimates say the school is currently operating at 60 percent above its intended capacity.
Monday's town election will be held from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Fuller Meadow School on South Main Street.
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