Wellesley OK's new high school
Voters approve debt exclusion
WELLESLEY - Wellesley voters yesterday overwhelmingly approved an $86.6 million debt exclusion to fund a $130 million new high school, the largest capital project in the town's history.
The tally was 5,026 to 2,869, according to unofficial returns available from the town clerk last night. Selectman Owen Dugan, in announcing the results, called the vote a "resounding mandate."
Supporters of a new high school had argued that the existing building - which includes a 1938 main building, a 1956 wing, and several later additions - does not meet current enrollment or educational needs and could jeopardize the school's accreditation. But opponents had urged voters to renovate and add to the existing building.
Last night, Suzy Littlefield, School Committee chairwoman, congratulated Selectman Katherine L. Babson, who headed up the campaign for the new building, adding that she was pleased to see the town's commitment to education, especially in difficult economic times.
Babson said the project would move forward "right away," with a permit hearing tomorrow before the town's Zoning Board of Appeals. Babson said the ground-breaking could start as early as March 2010 and construction could be complete in late 2012.
The tug of war between those who wanted a new high school and those who wanted to preserve the old one played out over several years of public forums. But it wasn't until a new design was vetted and approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority that opponents raised an unusual concern: that the proposed foundation for the new building might not provide adequate protection against collapse during a major earthquake.
Opponents quickly capitalized on that red flag - raised by a geologist just before a special Town Meeting vote in late October - and circulated a flier to every household just days before the townwide vote.
Supporters of the new design said the building would meet state building code requirements, which require school buildings to allow for safe evacuation in the event of a major earthquake. They also pointed out that the school building authority's promise of up to $44 million in state funding would be jeopardized if the town abandoned or delayed the plan the agency approved.
Before yesterday's vote, the largest capital project to win approval in Wellesley was a $26 million renovation of the middle school in 2005.
At its peak, the debt exclusion approved yesterday is expected to add $529 per year to the tax bill of a house assessed at the 2008 median value - $832,000.
Sheryl Strother, town finance director, said the debt would probably be paid off over a 25-year period.
Turnout yesterday was 48 percent of voters. The largest turnout for a non-November vote in Wellesley was in May 2006, when 62 percent of voters turned out to approve a $3 million operating budget override of the state's Proposition 2 1/2 law. 