To submit school announcements, click on image.
All of Haverhill’s usual polling places will be open next month when voters go to the polls to decide whether there should be a new Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School.
Haverhill City Clerk Kaitlin M. Wright says that while there was an option to have fewer voting locations for the Tuesday, Jan. 23, special election, there was worry the change might confuse voters. This is especially true this year when the presidential primaries are also just around the corner. Owing to state law governing regional elections, however, Wright adds, there will be differences.
“This election is a lot different than other elections in the sense that, due to state election law, there will be no vote by mail. There will be no early voting. People have two options—to file a request for absentee ballot or vote on election day. Polling hours are also going to be different for this election. Polls will only be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. State law allows us to have the polls open no more than eight hours so the clerks in all of the 11 communities that Whittier serves felt that 11 to 7 was in the best interests of trying to accommodate all voters and their schedules,” Wright says.
Whittier Tech will be paying the estimated $65,000 to $70,000 cost of the special election. The cost is expected to be lower than the special balloting earlier this year to decide how to pay for the Dr. Albert B. Consentino School. Besides no early voting or vote by mail option, Wright notes other reduced expenses.
“I’m also not having as many staff on election day as I normally world. Normally, we’re staffing like six people to a precinct. This time, we’re just doing four because of the reduced hours and, the kind of odd election day, I just don’t think turnout will be that high,” she adds.
As WHAV reported first, the Massachusetts School Building Authority and Whittier Tech School Committee signed off Dec. 13 on the districtwide election. The approval came just under four years after the school was invited into the Authority’s eligibility period as WHAV reported at the time. A year ago last fall, WHAV also reported on two renovation and two new construction options presented at a public meeting and the decision almost a year ago to build a $444.6 million replacement. The state will reimburse the district about $180 million, reducing the share paid by member cities and towns to $264 million over 34 years of bond payments.
The school noted it will embark on a major renovation project to replace failing equipment and systems and bring the structure up to modern building codes should voters not approve new construction. “This work is estimated to cost $367.5 million over 41 years of bond payments, with no reimbursement from the state,” officials said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the “Yes for Whittier Committee” was organized Dec. 13 in a filing signed by Chairman Kristin Karampatsos of Haverhill and Treasurer Joan Sweeney of Salisbury.