HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECT FACT SHEET 

High School Building Project Fact Sheet

Space and Facilities Needs at the High School Enrollment at Algonquin is rising, and will soon exceed the school's capacity of 1134-1193 students. Projected enrollments reach 1177 in academic year 2002/03, 1286 in 2003/04, and increase steadily thereafter, leveling off at about 1600 students.

The high school is additionally in need of major renovation. The original 
building was opened in 1959, with a major addition in 1969. Although the 
existing physical plant has been maintained, no substantial infrastructure 
upgrades have been made since the 1969 addition. Major systems such as the 
septic, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire safety, handicap access, and 
heating and ventilation are either past their expected lifetimes, or do not 
meet current code requirements.

Decisions by the Regional School Committee and by Voters

1996. Following town meeting approvals, the school committee contracted with the Office of Michael Rosenfeld to analyze the existing facility and to guide the Feasibility Study Committee through an analysis of future facility needs. A demographic study was commissioned.

1997. The school committee approved a preliminary plan for 
renovation/addition.

1998. Response from the public indicated a strong interest in consideration 
of alternative solutions, including building a new school, as well as dissolving the regional school district. The Algonquin Building Planning Committee was formed. A second, more detailed demographic study was commissioned. An architectural firm, Keyes Associates, was engaged.

1999. In March, the Building Planning Committee recommended building a
single new high school. In June, following extensive public debate, the school 
committee voted unanimously to bring the new build option forward to the 
voters. The school committee additionally began negotiations with MetLife
for the purchase of land adjacent to the existing high school.

2000. A purchase and sale agreement was executed between MetLife and the 
Regional School District. In March and April, Northborough and Southborough town meetings authorized this purchase. The town meetings additionally approved fees for the design of a new high school on land adjacent to the existing high school, contingent upon debt exclusion ballot elections. The debt exclusion measure passed in Southborough, but failed in Northborough.

In September, simultaneous special town meetings accepted an amendment to the Regional District Agreement, changing the formula by which capital costs are allocated between the two towns. The Northborough special town meeting additionally approved design fees for a new high school under the new cost-sharing formula, contingent upon a debt exclusion election. The debt exclusion subsequently failed at the ballot. (The design fee question was
not reconsidered in Southborough, where the original vote was still valid). In 
October, following a series of special meetings with extensive public input,
the school committee revised the new build plan, and voted to bring the 
design fees question to a regional ballot election.

Split of Costs between Northborough and Southborough
Under the previous agreement, debt payments for capital costs were split in 
proportion to each town's share of enrollment in the year before the capital
cost was incurred. The split remained constant throughout the 20-year 
lifetime of the bonds, regardless of subsequent shifts in enrollment. Under 
the amendment of September 2000, payments will be split in proportion to a 
four-year rolling average of each town's share of enrollment. In addition, 
services contributed to the regional district by the towns will be charged
to the district's operational budget, which previously did not account for such
services. The operational budget has been, and will continue to be, split in
proportion to each town's share of enrollment on October 1 of the previous 
fiscal year.

The Reimbursement Issue
The Massachusetts Department of Education, through its School Building 
Assistance Program, pays most of the costs of building schools. Its payment 
formulas and requirements, including especially the need for SBA approval of
projects, dominate the cost analysis of any school project considered by the
Regional School Committee. Until the end of this year, the reimbursement
rate for the Northborough-Southborough Regional District is 65%. Starting in
2001, a new formula will determine the reimbursement rates. The Department of Education has not released sufficient information for anyone to determine 
what the regional district's new rate will be. To qualify for reimbursement 
at the old rate, a school project must have received approval from SBA and 
design fees must be approved by the voters, both by December 30, 2000; and 
the design must be completed and the whole project approved by the voters by June 30, 2001. The Department of Education has indicated that projects 
"grandfathered" under the old formula will be considered eligible for 
reimbursement under the new formula, if the new formula results in a higher 
reimbursement rate.

The project presently before the voters is the only solution to the high 
school capacity and facilities problem which stands a reasonable chance of 
qualifying for reimbursement under the old formula. Other solutions could be
brought forward on time, in theory, but the rapid approach of the deadline, 
and the time scale on which meetings and votes can be held, would make this 
extremely difficult.

Solution Proposed by the Regional School Committee
The proposal is to build a new 290,720 square foot high school on land 
adjacent to the existing high school, demolish the 1959 building, and keep 
the 1969 3-story addition. It differs from the previous plan, which called 
for the construction of a 305,000 square foot high school, and complete 
demolition of the old high school. The change from 305,000 to 290,720 square
feet was made without reducing the educational specifications (number and 
size of classrooms, for example), by moving central administrative offices
to the 1969 addition, and by adopting a maximally compact, 3-story design for the new building. These changes reduce the estimated cost of the project
from $50.6 million to $47.8 million (including design fees).

Alternative Plans
The feasibility committee, the building planning committee, and the school 
committee have considered several alternative plans over the course of 4-5 
years of study and deliberation. The most recent was a $30 million 
addition/partial renovation plan generated by two Northborough residents.
The school committee, advised by the architectural consultant that this plan 
would not be eligible for state reimbursement (and thus would cost the towns
far more than a state-reimbursable $50 million project), dropped it from 
further consideration. The alternative plan with the greatest feasibility
and public support was a thorough renovate/add project, which was deemed by the building planning committee to be a viable, though not preferred, option.

Tax Impact
The tax impact of the $47.8 million new-build project, including both 
interest payments and state reimbursement at 65%, averaged over the lifetime
of the bonds, is $137.81 per year for the average house in Northborough 
(based on a value of $200,000), and $154.25 per year for the average house
in Southborough (based on a value of $325,000).

Consequences of Different Outcomes of the Vote
A yes vote by a simple majority of regional voters authorizes the Regional 
School District to incur debt not to exceed $2.58 million, to pay fees for 
the design of a new high school. This vote would enable the school committee
to hire an architectural firm, and meet the December 30 deadline for 
reimbursement under the old formula.

In a regional vote, it is possible for the measure to pass with a majority
of voters in one town voting against it. Although the school committee would be authorized by such a vote to commission a design, it would not be obligated to do so, and would have to decide whether to proceed under the
circumstances.

A no vote would prevent the project from going forward. We would miss the 
deadline for reimbursement under the old formula. Because nearly immediate 
construction of a new high school is the only long-term plan which solves
the space problem before the capacity of Algonquin is exceeded, it would be 
necessary to purchase temporary or portable classroom space. Such purchases 
are not reimbursable by the state.

Times and Places of Voting
Saturday, November 18, 12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m., at the usual precinct
polling places.

Tony Poteete
November 2000

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