To submit school announcements, click on image.
Ten of the 11 communities that send students to Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School last week pledged to support a possible shared campus between the school and Northern Essex Community College.
The Memorandum of Understanding was developed by Northern Essex President Lane A. Glenn and Whittier Tech Superintendent Maureen Lynch in time for a meeting of the Massachusetts School Building Authority next month where members will consider letting a new building proposal in the pipeline.
Only one of the sending communities, Rowley, withheld its support. All others—Amesbury, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Ipswich, Newbury, Newburyport, Merrimac, Salisbury and West Newbury—agreed to support a working group that would attempt to reach a consensus to approve, build and pay for a replacement for the 50-year-old Haverhill building. Members of the Rowley Board of Selectmen Monday criticized the plan, with board Chairwoman Christine A. Kneeland and board Vice Chair Sheri David identifying several concerns, including the timeline.
“The short notice sent by an urgent email from NECC to sign an MOU provided by NECC and not Whittier is quite surprising,” David said. “Because neither Whittier School Committee representative Dave Irving or Whittier superintendent Maureen Lynch discussed this with the board on Sept. 23 when they came here.”
Whittier Tech Superintendent Maureen Lynch told WHAV the idea for the memorandum arose after her Sept. 23 presentation before the Rowley Board of Selectmen. “The reason for its urgency was due to the state’s Dec. 13, 2024 meeting at which they will determine whether Whittier Tech will be invited into the 2024 Eligibility Period,” Lynch said.
Last February, shortly after voters in all communities but Haverhill rejected a $445 million replacement school, the School Building Authority withdrew its invitation to pay most of the replacement cost. Authority Executive Director Mary Pichetti previously warned of the consequences.
“If approval eventually does not come on the project, then we would likely be working with the superintendent and the district to remove their Statement of Interest, and none of us here want that to happen,” she said.
According to Northern Essex Community College, Pichetti recently visited the college to learn more about the shared campus idea and early support from 10 of the 11 communities.
One undercurrent appeared front of mind for Rowley selectmen. They made clear several times they want changes to the 1967 agreement between the communities—ostensibly to shift more of Whittier Tech’s capital expense obligations to Haverhill. Kneeland noted Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett’s veto over reopening the agreement, which requires unanimous consent.
Kneeland said the new memorandum could be considered a conditional agreement. A sentence reads, “any such proposal shall not be binding on any of the 11 member communities.” David also questioned why the town has received communication from Northern Essex, for which it has no formal relationship, rather than Whittier Tech.
Kneeland also raised concerns over mixing high school students and college students, a concern also was raised during a Nov. 12 listening session with UMass’s Donahue Institute, which plans to provide a report on its findings later this year. Whittier already sends some students to Northern Essex as part of the Early College program.
David also alleged the Whittier School Committee did not contact Rowley about the proposal to merge both campuses. Lynch said, however, officials from Rowley were not present during a meeting with Whittier Tech administrators and local leaders earlier this year or a subsequent meeting in the spring to discuss a potential partnership with the college.