Mattapoisett to potentially pay over $8.5 million for new Old Colony building

MATTAPOISETT — Representatives from Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School presented plans to the Mattapoisett Select Board for a potential $288 million campus upgrade.  

Old Colony representatives, including Superintendent Aaron Polansky, emphasized the current needs of the high school and the specific updates they would make.

“We’ve maxed out with our current infrastructure,” said Polansky of the aging building.

The representatives presented two options — either repair the existing building or rebuild. They propose to rebuild. 

Shirley Burke, an Old Colony Committee member representing Rochester, stated that “Old Colony has been in existence for 50 years . . . and it’s relatively unchanged.”

Aaron Polansky demonstrated the lack of classroom and faculty space by presenting photos of cramped Old Colony’s facilities, including a small supply closet that was converted to an office for a school psychologist.

The total cost of the proposed project is projected to be just over $288 million. However, the reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority is estimated to be approximately $129 million. 

The remaining $159 million would be paid by the five towns sending students to Old Colony, allocated on the basis of the percentage of students each sends to Old Colony. Mattapoisett is estimated to pay 3%, which would be just over $8.5 million to construct a new building and just under $7.5 million to repair the existing structure.

With the potential campus upgrades and the addition of new vocational programs, Old Colony would be able to increase the amount of students they accept into their programs each year from approximately 560 to 776 students.

The state has requirements for the minimum amount of square footage needed for each room in a high school. Polansky said, “Nothing meets the state requirements for square footage.”

The bathrooms are not ADA accessible, and female students lack equal access to bathrooms throughout the building. Additionally, Old Colony does not have an adequate fire suppression system.

Dennis McLaughlin, a Mattapoisett resident, was eager to support the construction of a new campus building and said, “it would be stupid for the town to try to repair that [existing] building.”

A Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion will be required if voters approve the campus upgrades, which will temporarily raise taxes in Mattapoisett for each household per year during the length of the project. Each of the five towns involved with Old Colony will have to individually approve debt exclusions.

Proposition 2 ½ prevents towns from increasing residents’ property tax by more than 2.5% per year without voter approval. Debt exclusions allow for a temporary tax increase above 2.5% for a specific project per voter approval.

The representatives directed residents to the Old Colony project website, www.oldcolonybuildingproject.com/tax-impact-calculator/, where they can input the value of their homes and receive an estimate of how much they would spend quarterly in additional taxes throughout the duration of the project.

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, voters across the five towns will choose to accept or reject the building of a new high school for Old Colony. To pass, there needs to be a simple majority of the voter base across the five towns. 

Polansky and other members of the project team said they will be available to answer questions at local events including football games, forums and presentations. A list of their appearances can be found on their Facebook at this link, www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=122138248346826213&set=a.122138248646826213.