Somerville-specific referendum questions?

[rmd.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen anything about it except for a couple of yard signs, but I gather there's a question on the ballot about construction of a new High School. I didn't see a link to it on the city elections department page, and I haven't seen it discussed here. Anyone have info or opinions?

we don't have a tag for 'elections' or 'politics'? I'm surprised.

Comments

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

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.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

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.

[francescadavis.livejournal.com]

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.