To submit school announcements, click on image.
Haverhill School Committee members last week expressed disappointment at their lack of involvement in the proposal to replace Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School, while generally leaning against renovation.
Mikaela D. Lalumiere, a newly elected Committee member who introduced the topic, said she asked Superintendent Maureen Lynch to come to that day’s meeting, but was told she was busy. Richard J. Rosa, also a member of the Committee, said he extended an invitation as well.
While emphasizing her belief in the school’s mission, Committee member Gail M. Sullivan did not hold back in criticizing Whittier Tech officials for what she described as a failure of communication. She added that she worked there for 14 years.
“I’m deeply disappointed at the lack of information, the lack of respect. Almost half of all the students come from here. We should have been contacted. We should have been contacted months ago. We should have been contacted during the planning part,” Sullivan said. “I went to a meeting last spring that was part of the planning, and I was the only non-staff member there. I was the only person from Haverhill,” she said.
Haverhill actually comprises about 70% of the school’s student body.
Despite Haverhill having two representatives charged with overseeing the school, Rosa said Whittier Tech had never entered the Committee’s agenda in his six years of service. Mayor Melinda E. Barrett pointed out, “then, in some ways, it’s [our] bad too.”
For a few minutes, the meeting devolved into interruptions and half-delivered statements as members tried to figure out the percentage of the construction’s sticker price the Massachusetts School Building Authority would reimburse. Committee member Paul A. Magliocchetti put the issue to rest after receiving a text reporting the number as roughly 40%. The state will pay $177.1 million of the $444.6 million price tag, leaving $267.5 million to be split among the district’s 11 communities.
“You know, this is why we need someone here. And we need a proper presentation from someone that can answer some questions,” he said. “We are charged with overseeing these things and understanding it, and we’re having difficulty. The average person, you can only imagine what they’re being told or what they’re hearing.”
Committee members agreed they should hold a public meeting with Lynch or someone representing her. Barrett reached out to Lynch after last Thursday’s meeting adjourned, but heard back such a hearing would be impossible given recent cease and desist letters circulating in the district.
According to state law, government officials are not allowed to take positions on ballot questions beyond their opinions as private individuals. Last week, an attorney representing a pro-Whittier Tech rebuild group served Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon with such a letter after he explained to the 29 students the town sends to the school why he stands against the project. Lynch told WHAV she declined the latest Haverhill invitation “out of an abundance of caution it would be skating too close to a potential state ethics violation for me to attend a [School Committee] meeting in which the merits of the Whittier Building Project are discussed.”
Airing concerns they would have liked to share with Lynch, Committee members critiqued election logistics and questioned the decision not to increase enrollment. Lynch did address the public at a Haverhill City Council meeting Dec. 12.
“I am a little disappointed about how this election is going to happen,” Rosa said. “It’s only eight hours. [There’s] no early voting. It’s no mail-in ballots. And it’s on January 23rd in the middle of the winter. If it snows like it did a few days ago, I mean, who’s going to vote?”
Barrett pointed out Whittier Tech tried to schedule it later in the year, but this posed problems for the city clerks of the sending communities. Haverhill City Clerk Kaitlin M. Wright told WHAV the school initially proposed presidential primary day, which is out of the question for logistical reasons. The state requires elections of this nature to fall in an eight-hour timeframe, which Wright said would confuse voters because polls for the primary will be open for 13 hours. In addition, clerks will be busy mid-to-late February preparing for the national vote.
Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 71, section 16(n) sets limitations on regional school elections, offering no provision for early or mail-in voting and dictates “hours during which all the polls in the district are open shall be uniform throughout the district and shall be not less than four nor more than eight consecutive hours.”
Rosa said he hoped a new building would have meant more students could attend. Magliocchetti echoed the critique. He said, “Look, I don’t think there’s anyone that says we don’t need a new facility there, but one point has been brought up again and again by everyone up here. They haven’t increased the size to allow greater enrollment. That is our biggest problem in the city of Haverhill.”
Jill Story, a new member representing Ward 5, said Whittier Tech’s website justified the decision as a cost-cutting one. She added that, while she sympathizes with residents worried about a tax increase, she lamented the misinformation circulating, and pointed out that a renovation is estimated to cost communities more in the long-run. Whittier Tech answers frequently asked questions on its webpage.
The 11 district communities are set to vote next Tuesday, Jan. 23.