davis_square | Somerville-specific referendum questions?

The school building has problems and needs to either be repaired or rebuilt or lose accredidation.

Rebuilding vs. Repairing:
I think it's a good idea to rebuild. By rebuilding the school we get state money. If we just do the repairs to keep the school up to standards, we spend about half as much money, but we don't get a new school.

Tax Increase to pay for it:
I think it's a good idea. School improvements (including rebuilding k-8 schools) have generally been managed out of the general budget, but paying for the high school that way would really squeeze the budget and not leave money for other school building upkeep, just pushing the problem into the future.

> I think it's a good idea to rebuild. By rebuilding the school we get state money. If we just do the repairs to keep the school up to standards, we spend about half as much money, but we don't get a new school.

In fact, since we'll get about half the money to rebuild from the state, the local cost is the same either way, but one has a much better outcome.

I thought the numbers were something like $70ml to repair, $130m of city money for the replacement? But I may have misremembered.

City website about the plan:
http://www.somervillema.gov/highschool/

Proponents website:
campaignforsomervillesfuture.com

There is a meeting about it tomorrow evening:
Community Meeting - The Future of Somerville High School
Visiting Nurses Association, 259 Lowell Street, Community Room,
October 5th, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
RSVP campaignforsomervillesfuture.com/events

Yeah, I saw that page. I just haven't found any info about what I'm supposed to actually vote on.

I've heard someone complaining that part of the plan was kinda weird in how they were trying to structure bond-issuing and handle construction loans, but no details on that and I'm not sure that's part of the referendum or not.

That's so interesting, because I feel like I've seen and heard a ton about it. But then, I have a kid who will be in HS next year and another one a few years later, so maybe I move in circles that are talking about this more. It might be useful to share with the people who are organizing in favor of this ballot initiative (because there ARE people organizing for it, quite actively) that their message isn't getting out far enough.

FWIW, I am in agreement with other commenters that rebuilding the HS is a good and important move for the city. Losing the HS's accreditation would be a HUGE problem for teens in Somerville, which would undoubtedly have many long-term repercussions not just on those kids and their families, but throughout Somerville. And on a more general level, having a HS building that is up to modern standards is just plain better for the community and the city as a whole.

Yeah, I'm in a childless household, so we're out of the immediate firehose of school related communications in general.

I am just curious if the referendum is a generic "let's build a school!" or a more specific "let's adopt this particular plan with this financial plan for loans/bonds to build a school and finance construction", since I'm all in favor of the former on the assumption that specifics would be hammered out later, but I would want a lot more information for the latter.

The building plan and financial plan are basically adopted with some ideas for selling city property to mitigate the tax burden. But that's not a guarantee and was mentioned semi-casually by the mayor at the Ward 6 Resistat meeting. If you can't make the meeting mentioned above by Chenoameg, I'd try to catch one of the other Resistat meetings. In order for this to pass, they definitely need to get the word out...and as stated previously, the high school risks losing accreditation. And so, my question is, what happens if the question doesn't pass? That's worth knowing.

From the City's Web site, the Elections Department has a list of ballot questions (they have statewide Question 1 wrong), saying:

Question 5 (Specific to Somerville)

Shall the City of Somerville be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond(s) issued in order to design, engineer, construct, and equip the new Somerville High School?

I can't tell if that's the entire thing we're voting on, or if there's more detail behind it.

Aha! Thank you!

Edited 2016-10-05 02:06 (UTC)

I scattered four or five emails to various addresses at SomervilleMA.gov, telling them that they need to fix the Question 1 summary. I hope someone acts on this tomorrow.

Glad you found that - my recollection was that the entirety of the ballot question had to do with the Proposition 2-1/2 Override, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't want to post and be wrong.

For those not sure what that means:
Wikipedia has a good summary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposition_2%C2%BD) and if you really want the nitty-gritty then the D.O.R. has a primer for officials to understand it (http://www.mass.gov/dor/docs/dls/publ/misc/levylimits.pdf).

Edited 2016-10-05 12:54 (UTC)

One of my e-mails hit the desired target, and the Question 1 summary is now fixed.

And now, Dan Moore from the City of Somerville has emailed me that "I’ve just confirmed with our Election Commissioner that this is the full text of the question [5] that is on the actual ballot."

I support the new high school. Here are my reasons:

1. Kids who are going to compete in this century deserve appropriate facilities. Things have changed since that other school was built.
2. Elizabeth Warren hooked me years ago with lectures she did where she talked about people "buying" their schools by moving to upscale towns. Somerville's kids should have our support and we should show that we value them and invest in them too. Many of our families can't afford to move to high-end suburbs, and they shouldn't have to.
3. I support spending on public education in general. I think it's a worthy investment, especially in times of increasing inequality.
4. I want our neighbors to want to stay here and to choose to raise families here.
5. We can build efficiency into this building, saving money in the long run.

I don't have kids, but I think quality facilities and educational opportunities are good for our community. I will vote "yes" on this.

Another long-term bonus of the new high school is that the historic portion of the old high school building will eventually be renovated to house additional city services that are now scattered around Somerville in buildings that are not very functional or ADA compliant. Places like the building on Evergreen Terrace that houses the Somerville Arts Council and the Dept of Public Health, or the Traffic and Parking Dept, or the school administration offices or the Rec Department, or the departments in the TAB building that we are paying Tufts to use. It will be many years before this happens and I have no idea what offices will be moved there, but I like the idea of getting rid of some of the dysfunctional real estate and consolidating city offices.

FYI: I was just push-polled on the new high school. Asked some demographic questions, asked registration issues. National candidate prefs. Nothing overtly obvious.

Then was asked on charter schools, Mostly stuck to the basic wording of the cap or removing the cap.

Then was asked on the high school. Long lead-in about how much taxes are expected to go up and over how many years.

I said yes anyway. But it was interesting. I wonder who is paying to defeat the high school...?

I've been browsing around some resources, including this thread, the Somerville subreddit, and google, and I really can't find anything to read on why to vote yes/no on this question. My gut tells me to vote yes, but I'm not really educated on why voters would consider voting no outside of the obvious tax increases (that is, there has to be more depth to it than the somewhat superficial "don't raise my taxes" argument). I got a promotional pamphlet in the mail last week for voting yes, but I wanted something a bit less biased. Have you, or has anyone else, come across anything with more nuance on both sides?

I haven't sought out reasons to vote no, so I present my bias there. I would be willing to read it, though, if I knew where it was.

I met one of the folks who is working on it a city meeting, and I felt they were doing this for the right reasons. So I was inclined anyway, and thought it was genuine, so I was on board.

But I will paste the contents of an email I got from Mark Niedergang's newsletter (my alderfolk) with his reasons so you can see it from someone who looked very hard at it. Mark also used to be on the school committee.

+++++++pasted from email in next comment, not my words, ran out of characters+++++++++++++++++++

Why I urge you to vote “Yes” on Question 5 on November 8th: Background information on the New Somerville High School (SHS) project and ballot question

Somerville High School (SHS) needs major repairs and is no longer an adequate facility for the needs of today’s high school students. SHS is at risk of losing its accreditation if the building is not fixed. Just to repair it and bring up to code would cost an estimated $130 million.

I will explain here why I am supporting a “Yes” vote, and respond to some of the concerns and objections I have heard. For more info, there is an excellent FAQ (frequently asked questions) page on the website of the Campaign for Somerville’s Future, a political campaign organization which was formed by community leaders to advocate for the new SHS and a Yes vote on November 8th. You can find it here: http://www.campaignforsomervillesfuture.com/faqs

You can see the PowerPoint slide show presentation made to the Board of Alderman on July 6th here: http://www.somervillema.gov/highschool/resources/2016_07_06_BOA_Financial-meetingV2.pdf

The $256 million price tag is a lot of money, for sure! Somerville’s share will be about half that. The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) will reimburse Somerville $120 million, with the City’s share at $136 million.

Many people have asked me, “Why do we need the most expensive school ever built in Massachusetts?” Here’s why. The current location is the only place in Somerville where a new high school could be built, and it is an expensive site to build on. Urban construction is expensive and costs more than suburban or rural construction. Construction costs have risen rapidly in Greater Boston the past few years, due to the hot real estate market. The plan is to keep the field house and some of the beautiful historical parts of the current building. It is more expensive to build around existing structures than to build all new. The school will remain open during construction, with students being moved around the site to attend classes.

All these factors add to the cost. But it’s likely the next high school built will be even more expensive than the new SHS; costs simply go up every year due to inflation and rising standards and requirements. The previous most expensive high school built in Massachusetts, Newton North, completed in 2010, would cost $400 million in today’s dollars. And anyway, don’t our kids deserve as good a high school as Newton’s?

Many people, especially homeowners, and especially seniors or others on fixed incomes, are worried about the property tax increases that will be necessary to pay for the new SHS. Taxes have gone up substantially in recent years, largely due to the increased assessed value of properties in Somerville. The City has also increased fees for parking, water, sewer, etc. This has unquestionably hurt homeowners on fixed incomes and also increased rents. The financing plan to pay for the new SHS calls for a slow but steady increase in property taxes, reaching a plateau in 2027 and continuing through 2054 at that level. So, for example, the average condo would see less than a $100 tax increase until 2024, when an additional $115 would be on the tax bill, with a maximum addition of $189 in 2027-2054. For a single family, it would be $124 in additional taxes by 2023, rising to the maximum increase of $294 in 2027-2054. For a two family, the increase would be $148 in 2023, $296 in 2025 and maxing out at $349 for 2027-2054.

The Mayor will be presenting a financial plan to the BOA that “mitigates the cost to the taxpayers through value engineering, the sale of city assets (i.e. buildings not needed) and other identified funding sources.” I will be looking closely at the Mayor’s plan and at the budget for the proposed new SHS and will advocate for cuts to save money where appropriate, such as the proposed $20 million for a parking garage, which I don’t think is needed with a Green Line Extension MBTA station coming to nearby Gilman Square.

[continued next comment]

[continued from previous comment]

If the new SHS is to be built, the voters of Somerville will need to approve it. The City plans to borrow (sell bonds to raise) $130 million. State law requires a vote to override the Proposition 2½ debt limit, called a “debt exclusion.” On July 14th, the Board of Aldermen voted unanimously for this “debt exclusion” question to be on the ballot on November 8th.

The question on the ballot is a little difficult to understand. The exact wording is required by state law. It will read: “Shall the City of Somerville be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so called, the amounts required to pay for the bond(s) issued in order to design, engineer, construct, and equip the new Somerville High School?”

I urge you to vote “Yes,” and to encourage your friends, families and neighbors to do so as well. Somerville needs this new school and our kids and families deserve it. Education is expensive – actually, priceless in my opinion -- and there is nothing more important in a community than good schools for our kids. I am happy to discuss with you further why the price tag is so high; don't hesitate to call or email me with your questions or concerns.

Mark Niedergang, Ward 5 Alderman

Thanks!

I guess my confusion is that in either result, the City still needs about $130m to repair the building. Is that accounted for in the general budget, now? If not, what is the City's recourse? I guess I'm missing that part of the narrative.

Still leaning on voting Yes (strongly), but as said, just looking to get perspective from both sides.

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