Preparing for the polls: Nov. 18 Old Colony vote approaches

Voters in Rochester, Mattapoisett, Lakeville and the two other towns that send students to Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School will go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 18 to determine the fate of a $288 million proposed project to rebuild and expand the school. 

A majority of the combined votes in Rochester, Mattapoisett, Lakeville, Acushnet and Carver is required for the project to proceed. 

Rochester and Lakeville's Nov. 18 balloting will also include a vote on whether to pay for each town's share through a Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion — allowing taxes to be temporarily increased above the tax limits by whatever amount is needed while borrowing for the project that is  financed  over a 30 year bond period.

In Mattapoisett, Acushnet and Carver, officials are delaying votes on how the town would fund its share of an approved project.

If the project is approved, each town would need to find the funds for its share based on the number of students sent to Old Colony — either through a debt exclusion or within its regular operating budget.

The new high school would modernize their now 50-year-old building, yet town officials remain worried about the hefty price tag that comes alongside. 

The project 

Old Colony has proposed a $288 million project to construct a new school building and increase the student population from approximately 560 to 776 students. 

Per state academic standards, the school is currently too small for its current student population. The project would address aging infrastructure, failing systems, a lack of fire protection and no water redundancy — all of which would need to be addressed to meet standards regardless of a new construction.

In addition, three new programs would be added: HVAC, plumbing and dental assisting. Updates would include more classroom space, updated equipment and updated technology as part of an entirely new high school building.

The estimated cost  

Of the $288 million overall, $129 million is estimated to be reimbursed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. 

The remaining $159 million would be the responsibility of the member towns and Old Colony Regional School District. Each town’s financial contribution is proportional to how many students they send to Old Colony a year. 

Rochester is estimated to pay $28 million, Mattapoisett is estimated to pay $8.5 million and Lakeville is estimated to pay $39 million. 

Paying for the project 

The remainder would be paid for by the five towns, divided on the basis of each town's use of the vocational school — similar to the way in which the annual operating expenses of the school are divided among the five towns.

Achusnet would pay the most with an estimated 19%, since they send the highest number of students to Old Colony each year. Next would be Lakeville with 14%, Rochester with 10%, Carver 9% and Mattapoisett 3%. 

As of September, Acushnet sends 206 students, Lakeville 134 students, Carver 98 students, Rochester 79 students and Mattapoisett has 37 students attending Old Colony, according to Superintendent Aaron Polansky.

If taxes were to be raised to fund the project, the proposed project's effect on each town would be markedly different. 

Acushnet would have the highest tax burden with owners of a median priced home seeing taxes increase by $722.16 a year.

In Rochester, the owner of a median-priced home would see taxes increase by $646.60 a year. The lowest impact would be in Mattapoisett in which owners of a median prices home would see taxes increase by $141.56. 

Lakeville owners of a median proceed home would see taxes increase by $452.68. 

Residents of all member towns can use the Tax Impact Calculator to find how the debt exclusion would affect their taxes.

Rochester and Lakeville will simultaneously vote on how to fund its share alongside the Old Colony ballot questions on Nov. 18. Mattapoisett will wait to vote on the matter at Spring Town Meeting.

A variety of concerns

In Rochester, officials are well along in the planning process for a long-discussed new fire station that is estimated to cost $19 million. Rochester Town Administrator Cameron Durant explained this concern. 

“When you have a building from 1883, a fire station, the more you wait, the more you'll pay in the future. So there's that balance back and forth. Do we need a new school? Do we need a fire station? Unfortunately, that's just the state of where we are,” said Durant. 

Rochester’s fire station would likely need to be funded with a debt exclusion on top of what is decided for the Old Colony project.

In Lakeville, two ongoing debt-exclusion projects will start to appear on tax bills in fiscal year 2027, the Route 79 redevelopment and the new fire station. Both have been authorized to borrow $2.3 million and $21.4 million respectively. Lakeville’s Town Administrator, Andrew Sukefoth, said since the two projects are yet to be completed the funding amounts are not final.

Mattapoisett residents and town officials also remain wary of the enrollment increase of Old Colony taking students and funding away from Old Rochester Regional High School.

“It's possible that if enrollment were to fall at Old Rochester, there would be financial impacts with the construction of Old Colony, but it goes both ways. If we spent money at Old Rochester, there might be an impact financially on Old Colony,” said Lorenco.

If the debt exclusion is rejected, the town can bring it back to the voters a second time.  

“If [the Old Colony project] doesn't pass, the problem doesn't go away. We still have to find a way to improve the school, even if we don't build a new one,” said Michael Lorenco, Mattapoisett Town Administrator.

If the project is not approved

Old Colony officials point out that there are alternatives to the rebuild if the proposal does not pass. The school district can come back to the voters another time with a new proposal — but they would have to wait until the competitive state grants become available again in the future. 

The cost to repair the current building is significant. The district estimates it would cost about $134 million to make the necessary repairs and renovations if a new school was not built. In addition, that cost is estimated without any state-grant funding to soften the price to member towns — whereas the new construction would see a state reimbursement of $129 million.

Repairs will not increase the student population, but bring the needed improvement to safety, accessibility and energy efficiency standards. 

“If we don't [build a new high school] right now, it would be fiscally irresponsible to put a band-aid on a 50-year-old building,” said Aaron Polansky, Old Colony’s superintendent.

Polling times and locations 

Polls will open at 12 p.m. and run until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18. 

Mattapoisett residents will vote at Old Hammondtown Elementary located at 20 Shaw Street. 

Rochester residents will vote at the Rochester Council on Aging located at 67 Dexter Lane. 

More information 

Visit the Old Colony Building Project website for more information located at www.oldcolonybuildingproject.com where residents can review the building plans and see how their quarterly taxes would be impacted with the Tax Impact Calculator.  

The next Old Colony Project public presentations are Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. at Apponequet Regional High School before the Lakeville Town Meeting and the same day at Rochester Fire Department with a time to be announced.