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Against the usual odds, Whittier Regional Vocational Technical School won state approval to move forward with a replacement school the same year it lost the same eligibility.
During a meeting of the Massachusetts School Building Authority Friday afternoon, Whittier Tech was unanimously invited into the eligibility period toward rehabilitating or replacing the school.
“This is a momentous milestone and we do not take it lightly,” Whittier Tech Superintendent Maureen Lynch said. “We recognize that opportunities for a second chance are rare and we are determined to approach it with the utmost care, collaboration and commitment.”
The school withdrew from the same state process this past February when voters in 10 out of 11 sending communities refused to pay for a $445 million replacement that would have been subsidized by the state. Whittier Tech’s latest triumph, however, was seeded this year when Gov. Maura T. Healey endorsed a possible shared campus with Northern Essex Community College.
WHAV covered the meeting that saw Whittier Tech and 21 other schools and four technical schools to enter into the eligibility period. Districts now have 270 days to form a school building committee, confirm community funding and submit compliance certifications among other items.
With a letter of support from Mayor Melinda E. Barrett and area legislators, Lynch made the case for the school’s building project.
After the meeting, Lynch told WHAV that this is a “wonderful opportunity for Whittier Tech and our community.” She added that though she’s celebrating the vote, she’s ready to “get to work” on Monday.
The eligibility period is one of the first steps of the process, with the district required to explore “all of the options,” not just the shared campus model, for which the school’s Statement of Interest was submitted.
“We have to look at fixing the school, we have to look at building at Whittier and the SOI we submitted was for the shared campus model,” she told WHAV. “It’s a long process.”
She clarified that the school will not break ground on any new projects for at least four or five years.
Northern Essex Community College President Lane A. Glenn, of said in a statement that “This project has the potential to not only benefit Northern Essex and Whittier Tech but also the educational and workforce needs of the communities we serve. While we’re still in the exploratory process of this partnership, today’s decision by the MSBA is a significant step, and we look forward to the next phase.”
A shared campus model, one of the options that will be explored, could add value to both schools and as WHAV reported in November, one resident believes it could make Haverhill a “destination for education.”