Town Meeting Approves $52 Million For New Danvers School

DANVERS, MA -- The town's representative town meeting approved a warrant article Monday to borrow $31.5 million to replace the Ivan G. Smith Elementary School. The current school was built in 1973 and utilizes an open-space design concept for classrooms that was popular in the 1970s. The new school, which will be built next to the existing building, will be twice as big as the current building and accommodate 485 students, up from the current capacity of 300.

The remainder of the estimated $52 million in construction costs would be covered by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Level funding for the bond issue means the town does not need to seek a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion and that the average Danvers homeowner will pay an additional $157 a year in property taxes to pay for the school.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).