Rising construction costs are raising concerns among elected officials on whether Haverhill and other communities can continue to pay for school rehabilitation projects over the next decade.
The City Council Tuesday approved $1.5 million in borrowing to both plan the future of the John Greenleaf Whittier School and pay for the schematic design of a new roof for the Silver Hill School. Both projects could lead to partial state reimbursement through the Massachusetts School Building Authority after construction. Council President Thomas J. Sullivan expressed disappointment the city is forced to borrow money upfront just to get state help.
“What bothers me is that the city is required to use our own funds or borrow our own funds to be able to do this step,” he said. “There’s a lot of talk about education reform going on. We passed a millionaire’s tax, a portion of that is supposed to go to education. Another piece is supposed to go to transportation at the state level. There’s $1 billion sitting there. I don’t understand why the state shouldn’t have to pay for this portion. I get it’s always the way it’s been, but given that cities and towns are going to face a crisis of sorts in not too long in the future, being able to operate and maintain a budget that stays in the black based on revenues that we can derive and that we do derive, we’re not going to be able to continue to do this.”
He added, “If we can’t pay for it, we’re not going to get the new schools unless someone does pay for this design portion or these feasibility studies.” Sullivan noted costs are rising higher than local budgets can accommodate within Proposition 2 1/2, forcing elected officials to either make drastic cuts or raise taxes to maintain current services.
Feasibility studies evaluate whether to repair, replace or renovate the school down to minute details including how many students the building should hold, how grades should be allocated, and where the building would be located.
Councilor Catherine P. Rogers questioned the total cost, which according to Superintendent Margaret Marotta, is within the range the state requires the city to borrow.
“For us, because we’re looking to replace a school, currently of 500 students, which would be rebuilt for 700 to 800 students, this is the number that’s comparable for other communities that have needed to go out to bid recently,” she said. “So, they give us a list of comparable projects to give us an estimate. We will go out and have it bid on and a series of companies bid and we will take the best price as is the expectation. They think that $1.2 million will cover it and hopefully it will be less, but they don’t want us to come back to you and ask for more.”
She added, “They ask us to pick a reasonable number more towards the top than toward the bottom of the estimates.”
As for Silver Hill, councilors authorized $300,000 of borrowing to pay for the schematic design of its roof replacement, which is a condition to receive future reimbursement for the project under the state’s Accelerated Repair Program.
Responding to a question from City Councilor John A. Michitson, Silver Hill’s roof will not be clad in solar panels. Marotta explained the state would not cover changes not initially proposed when the school entered the pipeline about two years ago. To the contrary, the Dr. Albert B. Consentino School, under construction, previously received special consideration to include solar panels.
By a vote of 10-0, councilors authorized borrowing $1.2 million for a feasibility study to replace the John Greenleaf Whittier School, the first step in a multi-year process after cinching state approval for the project more than a year ago. Councilors also voted 9-1 in favor of the Silver Hill roof study with Rogers casting the dissenting vote and Councilor Melissa J. Lewandowski absent.