Somerville Question 5: Will the City Approve a New High School?

SOMERVILLE, MA – On Tuesday, voters nationwide will turn out to submit their choice in one of the most polarizing presidential elections in American history. In Massachusetts, voters will decide on four ballot questions unique to the Bay State – two of which have been intensely debated in the months leading up to Election Day.

But in Somerville, the decisions run deeper, and could have lasting consequences for the city's taxpayers and its school system.

There, voters will decide on Question 5 Tuesday, which would approve the city's portion of a $256 million high school. According to the Boston Globe, the school would be the most expensive in state history, coming in well above the $198.5 million Newton North High School.

The project would be funded by $120 million in state money and $136 million from the city. Tuesday's vote would exempt $130.3 million of Somerville's portion from the limits of Prop. 2 1/2, allowing it to be absorbed by increased property tax revenues over a temporary period of time.

Starting in fiscal year 2027, the average single-family home would see a maximum of $294 added to its yearly tax bill; that would slowly fall until reaching zero in 2054. Two-family homes would see an additional maximum of $349 before falling back to zero by 2054.

The proposal selected by the Somerville High School Building Committee would construct a 404,110 square foot school on the current site, demolishing about 82,700 square feet of the complex and calling for 321,410 square feet of new construction, according to the Globe. The new structure would also allow the city to address an expected increase in enrollment.

Proponents of the project, which include Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, consider it a worthwhile investment given the current building's structural uncertainty, cost of renovation, lack of adaptability to a 21st century education and potential loss of accreditation status.

But those opposed believe it to be harmful to taxpayers. Chairman of the Somerville Republican City Committee Brian McCarthy told the Boston Globe the project is a “waste of taxpayer funds. It’s going to increase the taxes on the elderly — they will no longer be able to live in Somerville.”

If approved, construction is slated to begin in spring of 2018 and continue until July 2021.

Photo Credit: Alison Bauter/Patch Staff